The Dark-Type Swordsman
by gbzbg
Summary: Kirito is pumped for the official launch of Pokemon World Online. As a beta tester and a competitive Pokemon battler IRL, he feels prepared to become one of the strongest players of the new virtual MMO game. Things change once he's trapped inside of it and death in the virtual world means death in the real world. Follow Kirito's attempts to become the very best and clear the game.
1. Chapter 1

"Eh it's no use, there's not much of a point to deciding my team when I don't know how much has changed from the beta," Kirigaya Kazuto mumbled to himself as he stifled a yawn. With his left hand, Kirito swept some loose hair from his eyes and caught his reflection on the computer screen as he did. Staring back at him was a 14-year-old boy with slightly long black hair and delicate features that sometimes got him confused for a girl. There was a tint of red to his jet-black eyes from staring at the monitor for too long, and Kazuto absently rubbed the inner corners of them with his left thumb and index finger as he automatically clicked the X at the top right corner of his browser. Blinking away his drowsiness, he noticed the window that said "Do you want to close all tabs?" and briefly glanced at his open tabs of Pokémon Showdown and Bulbapedia before determining it was nothing of importance and selecting the option to close them all. The time was 12:30 and he needed to get a few things done in the next 30 minutes. His stomach grumbled as he got up and went downstairs to get some food. As he came to the base of the stairs he nearly stumbled into his younger sister, well technically his cousin, not that it really mattered to him as he kept telling himself.

"Kazuto, there you are! I was about to call you down for lunch, are you hungry?"

"Oh great, I'm starving actually let's eat."

"I figured, it's crazy how much you can eat even though you sit behind a computer screen all day" Suguha teased as she stuck her tongue out at him.

Kirito feigned a pained expression as he lightly bumped her arm with his fist.

"Hey it's not like I'm inside all the time."

"Oh yeah right, if not for school and your Pokémon tournaments I doubt you would see the sun at all!"

While she had said it jokingly, Kazuto recognized that her words were for the most part true. He had always been into computers, and after finding out the truth about his family, that his 'parents' were actually his aunt and uncle, he had spent more and more time indoors. While he still loved his aunt and uncle, finding out that his parents died in a car crash had made him try to distance himself from them. This wasn't without its share of consequences, as he realized when his grandfather had beaten him when he had declared that he wanted to quit kendo. Only Suguha's insistence that she would practice enough for the both of them had stopped his grandfather from continuing. Nevertheless, Kazuto had grown further from his cousin as he receded deeper into the world of online gaming.

Pokémon was not the only game that Kazuto played, but it had been his favorite, and after playing all of the games he began to enjoy battling other people more. While sticking to online battles at first, he had formed a team and quickly risen up the leaderboards; he seemed to have a natural knack for it. Content with playing MMO's and battling others online, it had been another game that convinced him to attend a tournament in person. Competing in a series of local tournaments, Kazuto ended up placing first in the circuit and obtained some prize money along with what he had really wanted: access to the beta of Pokémon World Online, or POW as it had been nicknamed for whatever reason. The nickname had become so popular that the developers joked about changing the game's official name.

Surprisingly, it had been Kazuto's tournaments that had helped to fix his relationship with his cousin. Their dad was often out of town on long business trips and their mom worked late, so they offered to pay for him to go to his tournaments. If he would take his sister to practice and help with the household chores that is. True to his word, he had done his best to help out his sister before heading to his room every day and he had to admit that he was impressed by the vigor she displayed when practicing kendo. He had originally thought that she only kept up kendo in order to appease his grandpa but he was beginning to think that she actually enjoyed it. However, despite this, he would often be nagged by the thought that he wasn't really being a good big brother if he was only being nice to Sugu because of his parents will. The fact that she was actually just his cousin popped into his head again but he dismissed it as best he could. Looking over at his sister, he noticed her short, dark-black hair bobbing a bit as she leaned over to check her phone and her grey eyes that had the tiniest tint of blue. While she didn't look that much different from him, it was clear from their facial structures that they weren't siblings. Or maybe that was just confirmation bias at play, it was tough for him to be sure.

Kazuto had been daydreaming as he ate and soon realized he was hitting the bottom of an empty bowl with his spoon. With a start, he looked down at his bowl with his mouth open and Suguha giggled across the table as she asked him if he wanted seconds.

"N-no I'm fine" Kirito stammered as he rushed to put his plate in the sink. "I have to hurry and shower before my game starts. I don't want to fall behind in my training."

Suguha sighed, "You're gonna be playing that game all day aren't you, even though you played the beta non-stop. Can we at least go somewhere for dinner tonight? Mom isn't going to be home till late and we have nothing in the fridge."

"Sure thing, I know I'm going to be busy with the game a lot for the next few weeks but I'll make sure to make time for you alright? You mean a lot to me Sugu."

Suguha nodded and Kazuto thought he saw the slightest tinge of red in her cheeks as she quickly buried her head in his chest and gave him a hug. He shrugged and hugged her back before patting her head a few times and quickly scampering up the stairs. He took a very brief shower and tossed on some boxers and a black t-shirt. Returning to his room, he found his NerveGear where he had left it on the dresser. After seeing that the clock read 12:58, he got comfortable in his bed before putting the dark blue helmet on top of his head.

The NerveGear consisted of a streamlined helmet that had a long pad on the back from which a wire connected to a power source. On the inside, it had an internal memory unit for storage and an internal battery that Kazuto recalled accounted for 30% of the weight of the NerveGear from an interview with the designer, Kayaba Akihiko. In many ways, the man was his role model. The man shared his passion for Pokémon, but rather than settling for the currently available technology, he had created an entirely new gaming system capable of recreating a true virtual world. When Kazuto first entered the beta, he had been awed by the amount of detail present in it. You could tell that it wasn't the real world, but for all intents and purposes, he felt just as alive in the game as he did in real life. Even better, he had finally been able to interact with Pokémon as a 'real' trainer would. POW wasn't the same as the Pokémon game or anime since the player fought alongside their Pokémon. It had been a dream come true for him either way though and he was determined to be the very best in the full release of the game. Right as the internal game clock ticked to 1:00, Kirito spoke clearly, "Link Start", and his consciousness was transferred from the real world to a virtual one for what was destined to be the most important dive of his life, unbeknownst to him.

* * *

 **Decided to come back and change up my original A/N since a lot has changed in my plans for this fic. Originally I planned to skip the GGO arc, but now I have ideas for all of the major arcs and especially for Alicization, which won't be coming for a while though since this fic is turning out to be longer than I'd planned. The first 4 chapters are mostly setup for the rest of the story and are pretty short but I'd recommend reading them anyways. After that, every chapter gets longer and more action packed. As far as the cast of this story goes, all of the original SAO characters and some of the game characters will play big roles, but playing the games isn't really necessary before reading this fic imo. I'd definitely recommend reading SAO Progressive first though and having at least a basic understanding of Pokémon. I do try to explain what each move does and describe the individual Pokemon whenever I can. The Aincrad portion of this fic will be based on Gen 5 Pokemon games and will especially focus on Gen's 1-3 which I'm more familiar with. Fairy Dance will be Gen 6 and have mega evolutions and Fairy-typing and whatnot while Alicization will be Gen 7. I thought this would make it more interesting overall since I'd have new ways to write battles in each arc while introducing new Pokemon, and I'll be doing something a bit different for GGO.**

 **Anyways, this is my first fan-fic so feel free to critique my writing or the plot. I'm always happy to read and respond to any PM's or reviews. I hope you enjoy the rest of the fic! Oh, and the romance in this story will be most similar to the SAO games in case that makes a difference in deciding to read it or not.**


	2. Chapter 2

"Hello there, glad to meet you! Welcome to the world of Pokémon!"

The enthusiastic voice of an old man familiar to Kirito rang out, as out of the darkness a light became more and more defined, gaining a shape and defining features. As his eyes became accustomed to the light, Kazuto could see a man with grey hair and dark, bushy eyebrows. He was wearing a lab coat and was familiar to anyone who had played a Pokémon game.

"My name is Oak, people affectionately refer to me as the Pokémon professor."

The man carefully put his right arm forward with palm facing up and angled it slightly upwards at a 20-degree angle. With his left index finger, he swiftly swiped from the bottom of his palm down his arm, opening a menu screen in midair right above it. Pushing his finger down on a button unseen to Kazuto, the professor caused a red light to appear and snake diagonally down to the ground, surrounded by silver light in a shape of a zigzag that resembled lightning. As the light hit the ground it exploded briefly in a sphere of white light, and a moment later, a purple rodent-like Pokémon materialized in its place. The Pokémon had big oval ears with purple spikes running down its back and a small horn in the middle of its head slightly above the eyes. Its eyes were red and had a hard glint to them which contrasted with the Pokémon's single long tooth sticking out of its mouth, reminding Kazuto of a caricature of a human baby. While the Pokémon had not been introduced, he recognized it as the poison-type Pokémon Nidoran immediately.

"This world... is inhabited far and wide by creatures called Pokémon. For some people, Pokémon are pets. Others use them for battling. Some view them simply as tools to be used."

Kazuto didn't recall that last line being in the original games or in the beta. Looking up from the Pokémon at Oak's feet towards the professor himself again, he thought he momentarily glimpsed the old man's eyes dimming and a grimace emerging from where his cheery smile had been, but they were back to normal in what couldn't have been more than a millisecond if it had happened at all. Puzzled, his eyes were drawn back down to the Pokémon as another red and silver line of light shot down from the Professor's arm to where the Nidoran was crouching. The Pokémon's body was encompassed in an instant before fading into nothingness. No sign of its existence remained as the Professor continued his speech:

"As for myself… I study Pokémon as a profession. But first, tell me a little about yourself. Now tell me, are you a boy? Or are you a girl?"

As Kazuto chuckled to himself softly, an option menu lit up in front of him asking him to select boy or girl. Below the standard responses appeared a third option, 'Recover Saved Character Data'. While this obviously wouldn't allow beta testers to recover their original Pokémon or levels, it would save him time in selecting his preferences and having to recreate his character. With his eyes, or rather his vision as he had no avatar currently, he moved the toggle down to the third option. He had already painstakingly designed his character in the beta to a look of his pleasing and this option would allow him to skip the rest of the professor's fairly generic speech. Blinking twice, Kazuto selected the option before Oak could explain how to select an option using the VR interface. With one final bright flash, Kazuto felt his consciousness shift again as the familiar feeling of virtual gravity brought his attention to his newly recovered virtual body. Clinching his hands into fists and hearing the beeping sound of teleports around him, he opened his eyes as Kirito, a Japanese man with an athletic body and a handsome face that was exceedingly unlikely to get him mistaken for a girl. Around him he saw 20-30 others opening their eyes and surveying their surroundings, many of whom he had recalled seeing once or twice in the beta test.

After clinching and opening his fists again and stretching his arms behind his head in a way he knew had absolutely no effect on his virtual body, Kirito began jogging through the courtyard towards where he remembered the Pokémon Laboratory being. As he briskly exited the gigantic courtyard area, he found a sprawling grassy area running through a town with a grey cobblestone pathway connecting the various houses. Most of the houses in this part of Pallet Town, the beginning area of the game where no Pokémon would spawn and attack you, were occupied by NPC's that would give various quests or dialogue intended to help beginners with the exception being the large building in the center towards which he was heading. Looking back over his shoulder, Kirito could see the much larger 'Player Area' which surrounded the Courtyard on all sides; there must have been enough residency and food options for nearly the entire 12,000 strong player-base that had gotten their hands on an initial copy of the game here. While Kirito had automatic access to the full game as a beta tester, he had seen TV reports of people camping outside of stores for days to have a chance of getting the game. The sheer size of the 'Town of Beginnings', as the Beta Testers had called the gigantic residential area, still confused Kirito. Almost no one would actually take up residency here when they could continue to advance through the game and find better boarding options even a single town over. Perhaps the extra rooms were created for when the next batch of players inevitably got access to the game. Regardless, Kirito turned back towards his destination as he approached the door.

Twisting the knob and pushing forward, he entered Professor's Oak Lab. Diagonal silver tiles lined the floor and there was an abundance of space, far more than one would have expected from looking at the building from the outside. It was filled with bookshelves, gadgets, and a number of Oak's aides, a few of which were talking to some of the other players. Ignoring the aides so as not to get swept into a tutorial on how to use the 'Pokélink' on his arm, Kirito walked towards the back of the room where he could see a sign marked 'Pokémon Selection Center'. Selection in this game worked differently from the other Pokémon games in which you got to select your Pokémon from 3 options. In order to allow large numbers of people to choose Pokémon simultaneously, stepping on one of the warp panels by the sign would move him to an instanced location where he would basically be on a separate map from the other players. There, he would be asked a number of seemingly random questions which the machine took into account along with a number of other unknown criteria to select his first Pokémon for him. In the beta, the testers had been allowed to go through the selection process as many times as they wanted in order to bug test the algorithm used. Many people had been displeased with receiving Caterpie or Magikarp no matter how many times they took the test and the GM's had promised to fix it before the official release. Kirito hoped this was true as he didn't want to start the game off with another especially weak Whismur that would take weeks before evolving into the more useful Loudred.

Stepping onto the panel in the middle, he felt his consciousness being whisked away into a small, dimly lit room. On the wall ahead of him was a machine with a number of rapidly blinking lights and a display in the middle that was displaying his vital signs and a blank screen. The screen lit up and text started scrolling through it as he heard a high, neutral voice ask him:

"Do you prefer strong or rare Pokémon?"

Kirito had decided to answer all of the questions honestly ahead of time but hesitated briefly before clearing his throat out of habit and speaking in a loud, clear voice:

"Strong."

The test continued for the next ten minutes and Kirito answered all kinds of questions ranging from his favorite school subject to his experience with Pokémon games, and even to what he would do in a situation where he was running late for a test and an elderly woman fell in front of him. The device then whirred intensely as the words 'Processing Results' showed up on the monitor in front of him. The whirring suddenly stopped and Kirito heard the announcement as he noticed the new words on the screen 'Results Processed: Pokémon Selected'. The same red and silver light as before shot from a dispenser on the machine towards his arm and encompassed his body, teleporting him from the instanced room back to the Pokémon laboratory. It was noticeably fuller now as people had no doubt begun to finish designing their characters, and he quickly exited the lab.

As soon as Kirito left the lab, he began running in the direction of Viridian Forest. The route would give him ample time to train his Pokémon and could be done in a few hours, allowing him to make base camp in Pewter City. Logging out in this game was risky to do outside of a safe zone as wild Pokémon or players could still attack your avatar, and dying in the game would cause you to lose experience, some Pokéyen (the form of currency), and potentially one or two randomly selected items.

As he ran, he brought his arm into the position required to initiate the Pokélink and stroked down with his left index finger to open the menu. He selected 'Pokémon' while turning a corner and abruptly ran into another man, accidentally kneeing him in the groin and causing both of them to be repelled backwards into the ground by the Safe Zone's anti-combat features.

Grasping his groin and groaning in pain, the handsome red-haired man with a bandana grumbled:

"What the hell was that for."

"Whoa, I'm really sorry man I wasn't paying attention to where I was going, sorry about that. You... you don't actually feel any pain in here though, do you?"

"Oh yeah" the man sheepishly exclaimed with a grin, "force of habit I guess. This is my first time in a VR game and it all seems so lifelike. Speaking of which, you seem pretty experienced. Would you mind helping a total noob out? I've played a Pokémon game or two before and some MMO's but nothing like this."

Kirito groaned to himself internally but he had just run into the man and kneed him in the privates. It wouldn't take too long to show him how to play, and worst-case scenario he could just complete some of the nearby quests and get some XP if he couldn't make it through Viridian Forest before dinner.

"Yeah sure thing, I have some time to spare and I don't mind. I'm guessing you haven't gotten your Pokémon yet, right? Go over to that laboratory over there and step on one of the warp gates in the back. I'm gonna stock up on potions and activate a few quests now but I'll meet you in front of the lab in 10 minutes."

With a nod, the man dusted himself off as he got up and gave Kirito a quick handshake.

"Thanks a lot man, I really appreciate it, the name's Klein. What's yours?"

"It's really no problem, and I'm Kirito."


	3. Chapter 3

After spending almost all of his available Pokéyen on antidotes, potions, and a few snacks to tide him over, Kirito met up with Klein again and took him to a secluded area near the outskirts of Pallet Town. This area was pretty isolated and was out of the way for anyone trying to go from Pallet Town to any of the other towns or quest points. It was the perfect place to give Klein a demonstration on how to play the game while not having to compete for mob spawns, which in this case were individual wild Pokémon. The tall grass came all the way up to his knees and Kirito felt thankful that he was wearing pants. While Pokémon could spawn anywhere outside of a safe zone, you were much more likely to encounter one in the tall grass area so it was much better for training. Although speaking of which, he should probably ensure Klein knew the very basics before they started battling.

"So, how much do you know already from the tutorial? You should at least know how to use the Pokélink right?"

"I think I get how it works, I just hold my arm out and swipe down, right?"

Klein held his arm out parallel to the ground and quickly zipped the index finger on his opposite hand across it.

"Huh, maybe you have to do it a little slower than that" he said as he continued to swipe his finger down and up repeatedly in more and more exaggerated movements.

"No, the speed really doesn't matter, it's just that your arm is at the wrong angle, try holding your hand a bit above where your elbow is and then do that same motion."

Kirito held his arm at a 20-degree angle and executed the swiping motion with the ease that came from repetition. His menu popped up with a ding and he heard Klein's open successfully a few moments later.

"Okay, so the menu is really pretty self-explanatory. It's a touchscreen and clicking on it once will select the next option. The first thing you should do is click on 'Equipped Weapon', there are 6 starter weapon types: One-handed swords, Rapiers, Daggers, Claws, Axes/Maces, and Spears. You can upgrade to better weapons and types throughout the game and you can switch which weapon you use based on the situation, but all the skill points you get with a weapon will only go towards that category so it's usually better to stick to one or two at most."

Klein nodded in understanding.

"Well, in other games I played I was usually a samurai, so I'll go with a one-handed sword for now. What's the button at the top of the menu do though? I remember the 'Pokédex' being in the games but I haven't played one of them in ages."

"It's fine, the Pokédex works a bit differently in this game anyways. When you spot a Pokémon you haven't seen before, you can click on the Pokédex button while keeping it in your vision and you'll hear a voice in your head giving you a brief explanation of what the Pokémon is. It has to be in range and fully in vision though, so you can't identify a Pokémon hiding in the grass or disguising itself for example."

Kirito looked around him and spotted a Pidgey on top of a branch in a nearby tree. Pointing at it before preparing to click the button, Kirito explained:

"Here, try looking at that bird Pokémon and clicking the Pokédex icon."

'Pidgey is a Flying Pokémon. Among all the Flying Pokémon, it is the gentlest and easiest to capture. A perfect target for the beginning Pokémon Trainer to test his Pokémon's skills.'

Once he was sure the recording had ended for Klein as well, Kirito continued his explanation.

"So as you can see, the Pokédex can help determine which Pokémon are suitable for you to fight and capture. Once you battle a Pokémon at least once, it's standard moves will appear on the Pokémon's individual page if you scroll down the Pokédex menu. Capturing a Pokémon will give you all the information about a Pokémon and if you capture certain amounts of them you can get rewards from Professor Oak. Anyways, why don't we go ahead and let our Pokémon out so I can teach you the basics of fighting. Just click on Pokémon and double click the only one in there right now. We won't be able to buy Pokéballs until the next town so let's just try to level up a bit."

With an emphatic nod, Klein pushed down on his menu 3 times and jumped in surprise as a beam shot out of his arm and manifested into a small orange chimpanzee. Its face, stomach, hands, and feet were a light, creamy yellow. The top of its head twisted up in a twirl that reminded Kirito of an ice cream cone and was accentuated by the swirl shape on its stomach. It immediately hopped onto Klein's shoulder and climbed on top of his head causing Klein to stumble and curse. Giving Kirito a cheery smile with its two tiny teeth barely visible, it jumped off of Klein's head to the ground. Laughing, Kirito began to explain to Klein how to control Pokémon as he began to reopen his own menu.

"Initially, you're gonna want to select your Pokémon's moves using the menu after selecting a Pokémon. It's kind of hard to do in the heat of battle though so you're much better off establishing a good mental link with your Pokémon. You should be able to hear your Chimchar in your head and you can talk to it and give it separate commands. While it's still an AI, it should act like a completely sentient individual creature basically, aside from when you give it a command which it will have to follow. That is, unless its traded to you and you aren't a high enough level for it. You should name your Pokémon and try to interact with it a bit. It takes a long time to get used to battling, but the closer you are, the easier it becomes."

Bringing his eyes back to his own menu, Kirito's eyes widened and his mouth opened in shock as he noticed his own Pokémon. 'Zorua' the name read right next to the level and gender which were '1' and 'Female' respectively. Clicking on it once to bring up its description and movelist, Kirito noticed that it had two egg moves, 'Sucker Punch' and 'Dark Pulse'. While 1-2 egg moves or transfer-only moves had been a common occurrence in the beta (no one wanted to spend time breeding a Pokémon only for it hatch at level 1 in a level-based MMO), these were 2 of the best egg moves that Zorua could get.

"Hey Kirito, are you gonna bring out your Pokémon already or are you waiting for an invitation? You're looking at your arm like you could take a bite out of it" Klein said, as he whirled around to keep track of his Chimchar that had run behind him through the gap between his legs.

Kirito quickly closed his mouth as he tried to suppress an embarrassed blush unsuccessfully; it was impossible to keep your emotions off your face due to the system's emotion detection system. Clicking once more onto his menu, a gray foxlike Pokémon with a bushy tail appeared on the ground in front of him. Its body twinkled momentarily and Kirito's eyes were drawn to the top of its head where a tuft of hair spiked upwards and changed from gray to red midway up. The blood red color coated its paws and eyebrows as well, while its ears were gray and pointed similar to the two tufts of hair coming out of its cheeks. The Pokémon's body was covered in midnight-black fur that resembled a scarf. Opening its electric blue eyes and glancing Kirito over, its mouth erupted into a smirk eerily similar to a Cheshire grin as it suddenly transformed into a girl with black hair and familiar feminine features.

Gasping, Kirito realized that the Zorua had transformed into a female version of his real-life appearance, complete with an added volume in the chest area that he did not have in the real world. Mind boggled as to how the Pokémon had known what he looked like, he faintly noticed a black tail hidden behind her back due to the thumping sound it made as it happily wagged against her. Sharp as a knife, a voice cut into his consciousness:

{Hello Kirito, or should I say _Master?}_ it intoned sarcastically, {What do you wish to call me?}

At a loss, Kirito suddenly remembered a foxlike magical beast from an anime he'd watched as a kid that could transform into other shapes. With a grin of his own, he realized how perfect the name was based on his Zorua's current appearance, and broadcasted into his consciousness:

{Since you seem to like being the female version of me, how about I call you Kiriko? Speaking of which, how the hell do you know what I look like IRL?}

{Ooh very clever indeed Master, I'm impressed! And we share a consciousness remember? I can feel and see everything you do.}

Slightly freaked out by the implications of this, Kirito didn't notice Klein's approach until he was already bowing in front of Kiriko and had her hands clasped tightly within his own.

"Hello M-Miss" he stammered, "I'm Klein and I'm 22 and single and honored to meet you."

Snorting to himself at Klein's embarrassing introduction to a Pokémon, and at the confused expression on Kiriko's face, Kirito reached over and pulled her tail which he knew would end the illusion. The Pokémon's paws slipped through Klein's grasp and the Zorua ran behind Kirito's back, shielding herself from Klein with Kirito's leg. {Get that man away from me!} Klein's expression had changed to one of confusion as well and Kirito noticed that his Chimchar was facepalming at its master's actions.

"Um Klein, meet my Pokémon, it's a Zorua which is the illusion fox Pokémon. It can transform into other Pokémon or people but it can't talk and always has a black tail sticking out from behind when it mimics a person."

"Oh wow, I feel like such an idiot, what a cool Pokémon! It must be pretty rare huh, I haven't played Pokémon since FireRed but I can't imagine it being common. Congrats man! Anyways what do you say we start training? My Chimchar is itching for some battle experience."

Kirito spent the next few hours battling a mix of Zigzagoons, Pidgeys, Rattatas, and Poochyenas with Klein. After he had explained the system assist used for sword skills, which involved moving the one-handed sword into the proper orientation to begin the motion and following through to gain more momentum and power, he hadn't had to do much as Klein picked up battling pretty easily. He was still using the menu to control his Pokémon's attacks more often than not, but he was beginning to get the hang of giving his Pokémon mental commands when they were doing the same thing, i.e. both retreating or both attacking. There had been one particularly funny moment where a lapse in concentration led to Klein slipping and ramming into a tree while influencing his Pokémon mentally to slip and fall down as well.

Rolling his eyes at his companion's clumsiness, Kirito had mentally commanded Kiriko to dash forwards at the Pidgey they had been fighting and fire a Dark Pulse while he himself ran up from behind it. A dark sphere of energy began to form from Zorua's open mouth, and after charging and growing in size for a second, it released straight towards the Pidgey. The wild Pidgey lunged backwards in an attempt to dodge the attack but was met by Kirito's sword which sliced into the back of its neck for a critical hit and propelled it back into the dark pulse, resulting in a powerful mid-air collision. The Pidgey's life points quickly drained from the combo attack and hit zero, causing it to dissolve into crystals which seemingly disappeared into thin air. Kirito noticed a level-up notification for his Zorua indicating that it had reached level 2 next to the normal XP gains and item drops from the Pidgey. Pokémon leveled up much faster than their owners; trainers generally would be leveling up multiple party members at a time and would be receiving XP in all of their battles corresponding to their level of involvement. Checking his Zorua's stats he was very pleased. He wouldn't know what her IVs (Individual Values) were for another few levels, but she appeared to have a high Special Attack stat as well as Speed.

Wiping the nonexistent sweat off his brow, Klein opened his menu.

"Wow it's starting to get late, time sure flies when you're brutally slaying holographic creatures from a children's video game. Or at least I think that's how the saying goes. I still can't believe Kayaba got the rights to make this game in the first place. Anyways I should have a nice hot pepperoni pizza being delivered to my house any minute now so I'm gonna sign off."

"You might want to hold off on logging off until we get back to town. Your avatar doesn't disappear when you log off in this game so wild Pokémon can kill you which makes you lose experience and occasionally some items."

"Yeah good point, I forgot about that. Thank God I'm not still living at home, my mom would just shut off the Internet if I was on the computer for too long as a kid. Quick noob question though, how exactly do I logoff? I don't see the icon for it anywhere in the menu."

"Here one sec, let me just swipe down to open the menu and it should be right here at the bott… wait what? This is where the logout icon was in the beta but it's just grayed out. That's weird…"

"Huh, must be a bug or something, I'm sure the GM's are swamped with requests for it as is but I might as well send a report now so they'll log me off by the time I get to town. Is there any other way to log off normally?"

Kirito tried to remember if there was any other way to log off during the beta and shook his head side to side nervously.

"No, I don't think so. Aside from the log out button I'm pretty sure you have to contact a GM. I never recall someone having this problem happen to them in the Beta though. It seems like it'd be the most important feature of the game and I can't imagine what happened for it to suddenly not be working."

Worried wrinkles appeared in the corners of Klein's eyes as well as he opened his mouth to respond, but he stopped instantly as both of their bodies began to shimmer with light as a loud bell tolled in the background. The shimmering got brighter and their bodies dissolved into particles and reformed back in the courtyard in the Town of Beginnings where they had begun the game.

* * *

 **For anyone interested in the manga/anime that inspired Zorua's name, check out HunterxHunter.**


	4. Chapter 4

Looking around, Kirito noticed a multitude of confused faces around him as more players were teleported into the Courtyard. Looking around, he wasn't sure who had initiated the forced teleport but it was sure to be a GM. Shouts began to chorus through the courtyard as the number of teleports began to diminish.

"What's going on?"

"Hey, where the hell is the logout button? I can't be on here all day I've got stuff to do."

"Where's the GM who brought us here? They aren't responding to requests at all."

"What's that up there by the ceiling?"

With a start, Kirito jolted his head upwards and squinted. Red hexagonal system warning signs were popping up all over the ceiling. Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, an egg popped into existence above them near the system warning announcements. The crowd began to quiet as they observed the fairly large white egg with green blotches sporadically covering its surface. The egg began to jerk back and forth in varying intensity without tipping over. A particularly hard jerk brought a crack to the surface of the egg. As the jerking continued, more and more cracks appeared across the surface until with a burst of light, the egg cracked completely. When the sphere of golden light died away, a fully-grown Pokémon had manifested in its place.

It was a white deer-like creature with a black and white mane and golden plates covering its feet. A golden cross-like wheel was attached to its abdomen giving it a look of royalty, compounded upon by it towering far above them, floating effortlessly in the air. The Pokémon had empty black eyes within which Kirito imagined he could see galaxy-like distortions. It was a fitting look for the creator of the Pokémon Universe, Arceus.

"Hello Players, you're no doubt wondering why I've gathered you here. As you all know, today is the launch day of Pokémon World Online. 12,000 players were given the opportunity to play this game, and that will be all of the players there are. No more copies of the game will ever be sold."

Stunned silence followed this bold statement and the deep voice continued on.

"My name is Kayaba Akihiko" *scattered gasps* "And I am the creator of this world. As of today, I will also be the sole GM as well. You need not worry though as the PIDGEOT system running this world will automatically apply balance fixes on an as needed basis. Many of you are no doubt wondering how I am able to say that everything is working fine when the logout option does not appear to be working."

Many players scrambled to bring open their menus and stared in dismay at the greyed-out button at the bottom of their screens, this being no doubt their first attempt at logging off.

"I can assure you that this is not a bug, in fact it is one of the main features of Pokémon World Online. From today on, no one will be able to log out of the game until one condition is met. That condition is to clear the game."

At the conclusion of this sentence, an uproar broke out in the crowd. Many players were in total shock but just as many were agitated in their disbelief. By his side, Kirito could sense Klein putting his hands on the sides of his head and attempting an exaggerated pulling up motion that, unsurprisingly, had no effect whatsoever on his actual body lying somewhere in an apartment in Japan. The NerveGear translated all non-autonomous bodily commands, such as moving one's arms and legs, to the virtual body while preventing movement from occurring in the real world.

"How are we supposed to beat this game? The beta testers didn't even make it to the 5th elemental zone."

"He's full of crap, there's no way he can keep us trapped in this game in the first place."

"The NerveGear linked to your head is currently programmed to fry your brain instantly if anyone attempts to remove it. As you can see from these news stations, this news is being broadcast around the world. Unfortunately, some concerned friends and relatives did not heed my warnings and 231 of you have died already."

Kirito looked up stunned at the live footage brought up and floating in mid-air near the Arceus. Every major news outlet seemed to be reporting on the situation and he saw the number 231 at the start of multiple headlines. The thought of his sister tearing his NerveGear off to get him to come to dinner flashed into his mind momentarily, and he quickly gulped and shook the notion out of his head.

"Fortunately for the vast majority of you who have survived thus far, the chance of someone removing your NerveGear now is astronomically low. Your bodies will no doubt be moved to hospitals soon by utilizing the internal battery installed inside of the NerveGear, allowing you to put your full concentration towards clearing the game. Furthermore, you need not be worried about dying while you are disconnected from the game as DC's will be granted temporary invulnerability for up to 5 minutes after logging back in and while you are disconnected of course. However, there have been a few changes to the game, most notably of which is that if you die in the game, you will die in real life. Any Pokémon in your party that have not fainted at the time will become wild Pokémon and will be available to be captured. Furthermore, when your Pokémon faints, it's life is at risk as well. If it is not revived at a Pokémon center or with an item within 25 minutes, it will pass away."

If I die in the game… Kirito thought to himself, I'm dead for good? This can't be possible, it just doesn't make sense. It's just supposed to be a game. I'm supposed to go to dinner with my sister in a few hours. I have classes to go to and chores to do. How can this be real? Despite his thoughts, Kirito understood the gravity of the situation and had accepted almost immediately that Kayaba's words were probably true. The NerveGear worked by using small electromagnetic pulses to send virtual signals to the brain. If the signal were amplified to send stronger pulses, it could vibrate the water molecules in his brain and fry it. It worked similarly to a microwave in that regard. One thing was for certain, this was no longer just a game, it was a death trap. And Kirito had to become strong in order to ensure he didn't die. Of course, he could sit in the Town of Beginnings and hope for someone else to beat the game, but the thought never seriously crossed his mind. He had been a beta tester and a competitive Pokémon battler in the real world. If there were any people more qualified for this game than himself, there couldn't be many of them. And although he tried not to let the thought fully form in his mind, he was almost kind of excited. He had dreamed of being a Pokémon trainer his whole life and now, despite how royally messed up the situation was, his reality was that of a Pokémon trainer and no longer that of a middle schooler with limited social skills until the game ended.

These thoughts and a variety of others ran through Kirito's mind as Kayaba paused again in his speech, whether for dramatic effect or to let people realize the gravity of their situation he did not know.

"Although the beginner's guide is not as detailed as I had hoped for it to be, it has all of the information required for you to play the game and to understand your win conditions. There are 17 elemental regions that are currently overrun by Pokémon. To clear a region, the boss or his main Pokémon must be defeated in the boss room of a Labyrinth that will contain higher-leveled Pokémon than the surrounding area. These fights will be akin to raid battles in other MMO's; the leader and his Pokémon will be significantly more powerful than any other Pokémon in the game and I would not suggest challenging it with a single party. Upon clearing the Boss Battle, the region will be cleared and the Labyrinth of the next region will open. There are a multitude of other towns that will be treated as Safe Zones as well, where players can rest, complete quests, and challenge gym leaders. These gym leaders will be powerful trainers but they will adhere to the normal rules of the game. To reach the gym leader, trainers must battle through the other NPC's in the gym, but they are able to go to the Pokémon Center and recover health at any time outside of battle. The trainers and gym leaders will be balanced to be slightly above the level of the Pokémon surrounding the town for reference. Beating a gym leader will award a player with a variety of rewards and will award buffs or the ability to use Hidden Machines outside of battle. Hidden Machines allow players to access areas on the map restricted to them at this point in the game.

To defeat the game, all 17 elemental zones must be cleared, at which point the League of Elites must be conquered. As there are 5 Elite 4's in the first 5 generations of Pokémon, it will come as no surprise that all of them must be defeated in battle. Only one player can challenge one of the Elite 4's at a time and the same player cannot defeat more than one Elite 4. Once all 5 of the them are defeated, Mount Silver will be unlocked and the Final Boss Battle against Red will become available. If you are victorious in this battle, the game will be cleared and you will be freed from this game. I am a man of my word, and I truly have every intention of releasing you from the game once the conditions are cleared. That being said, the tutorial for Pokémon World Online is now complete. My goal in making this game was to create a World of my own more interesting than the real one, in the hopes that I could watch it develop and manipulate it. If that reason isn't good enough for you, beat the game and I'll offer a fuller explanation. With that, I bid you the best of luck. Oh, I almost forgot, I added a gift to all of your inventories. Enjoy."

With an air of finality, the Arceus avatar closed its mouth, only for it to open it again a second later and emit what could best be described as a black hole that seemed to rip through the very seams of virtual reality itself. The hole expanded as the Arceus walked on the air towards and into the hole. As the last of its legs and tail disappeared, the hole closed on itself into nothingness without a sound, and no shred of the Arceus or the hole having existed remained. Kirito swiped down his menu and opened his inventory, he scrolled through his items rapidly and selected an item that he knew hadn't been there before titled 'Mirror'. As he clicked it, his body became encompassed in a sphere of white light for the final time that day, and he noticed a similar effect happening to everyone across the courtyard. With a series of blinding flashes, Kirito regained his physical form and looked around puzzled. He hadn't been teleported anywhere and all of the other players seemed to be just as confused as he was in the same positions as before. Questioningly, he turned towards Klein, only to find another man wearing the same red bandana had taken his place. The stranger had spiky reddish hair, a slightly hooked nose, and scruffy hair on his chin and cheeks. With a dawning sense of apprehension, Kirito spoke.

"K-Klein, is that you? You look... different."

"Kirito? You're one to talk, you look like a teenager…" Klein trailed off as his eyes landed on the mirror in Kirito's hand angled towards himself. "Oh my God that's really me, how the hell did they get our real-world appearances in the game?"

"Oh, so that's why we had to pat the different parts of our body when we were calibrating for the game, the NerveGear has a facial scanner too doesn't it? Now I know how Kiriko knew what I looked like IRL. I was wondering about that. Wait there's no time to waste, we have to get out of here!"

Kirito grabbed Klein's arm and began running towards the nearest exit to the courtyard. It seemed that most people had finally been able to access their inventories and realize what had occurred to their appearance. As though finally let loose from a silencing spell, the courtyard erupted in a mixture of screams, yells, and the sound of breaking glass as all hell broke loose. Avoiding the mayhem as best he could, Kirito got them out of the courtyard and quickly began explaining his plan to Klein.

"Look, we need to get out of here as fast as possible, this place is gonna be a total mess but if we hurry we can get to the next town and find a place to rent. I know a quest we can do tonight to upgrade our one-handed sword which is gonna be really important early on while our Pokémon are still weak. If we leave now-"

"Whoa whoa whoa, slow down Kirito. This being a death game changes everything. Do you really think we should be running out there to get stronger near nighttime when we could actually die? Besides, I came to this game with a group of friends from the real world. They're probably sitting in that courtyard looking for me and freaking out right now. I can't leave them behind. Why don't you join up with us and get an early start tomorrow?"

Kirito hesitated and looked behind him towards the exit, indecision showing on his face. He knew that every minute he wasted here he was allowing others to get a head start on him in becoming strong. If he got too far behind, he'd never be able to catch up to them. As though reading his mind, Klein cut in before he could respond:

"Actually, forget about it man. I've played MMO's before and I can't ask you to wait for me and my friends to get to your level. You already know what you're doing and we'll hold you back. What you taught me today was super helpful and I was a guild leader in my last game, so I'll be fine. You get out there and start beating this game, but don't you dare forget this is a death game, you hear? I plan on paying you back for your help one day and that doesn't mean shit if you die man."

Still wracked with indecision, Kirito turned to look at Klein and simply gave him a single pained nod before turning to run off towards Viridian Forest.

"Hey, Kirito, one last thing."

He paused mid-stride and turned to face Klein.

"You look pretty good in real life. This look fits you better than your original avatar."

Kirito attempted to mask his emotions with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"You too man, the scruff suits your look way better."

With that, Kirito ran down the path until it reached the edge of Pallet Town. With a deep breath and one final look back filled with regret, he took his first steps outside of the Safe Zone in the death game that was now POW.


	5. Chapter 5

Kirito was currently in the Northwest quadrant of Viridian Forest, having stopped briefly in Pewter City to accept the quest for Anneal Blade from an elderly woman with a sick Cyndaquil and to purchase some Pokéballs with the cash he had earned from battling on his way there. As he looked around for his next opponent, he noticed that the sun was beginning to set, giving a golden glow to the green edges of the trees that were interspersed throughout the forest. With his searching skill activated (he had taken One-Handed Swords and Searching at Level 1 so as to avoid any mobs that would be too dangerous this early in the game), he located another Bellsprout and moved towards it to engage it. It hadn't sensed him yet and he took this opportunity to have Kiriko flank it on its opposite side. He picked up a rock near him on the ground and activated the system assist to chuck it towards the Bellsprout. The rock glowed orange and whizzed through the air, striking it in its bulb shaped yellow head.

Looking towards him angrily, the Pokémon immediately retaliated, summoning multiple leaves from nowhere and spinning them rapidly in mid-air before shooting them towards Kirito. Prepared for the attack already, Kirito dashed forward and contorted his body to the left while rolling, allowing him to dodge the leaves and keep his forward momentum. At the same time, Kiriko crashed into the backside of the Bellsprout's wiry body with a Faint Attack. The Bellsprout was knocked forwards, yet seemingly without looking, it shot a vine behind its back towards his Zorua. The whip arched through the air right towards her but was intercepted by Kirito's sword. He had changed his course as soon as he saw the vine come out and jumped towards the Bellsprout with a Slant attack of his after knocking away the Vine Whip. His attack knocked the Bellsprout away once again and lowered its HP to the red zone. Kirito knew that at this HP range it had a good chance of calling other Bellsprout for backup.

{Quick, hit it with a Pursuit before it can get away.}

Lunging forward and coating itself in a dark aura, his Zorua hit the Bellsprout and immediately drained the rest of its HP points. _Pursuit hits for double damage on retreating enemies so that was probably overkill, but better safe than sorry and having to fight my way through Bellsprout's friends._ As Kirito checked the minimal XP and item gains from a single low-level Pokémon, Kiriko walked towards him and rubbed up against his legs before curling up on the ground and placing her head on his foot.

{I'm hungry, let's go back to town and finish this quest tomorrow.}

{The more Bellsprout we kill the higher the chance for a Weepinbell to spawn nearby, and we've already killed a lot of them. If we start over tomorrow we'll lose all our progress and more people will be doing the quest. There's still a bit of day light left, let's have a quick snack and get back to it alright?}

Kiriko pouted up at Kirito with puppy dog eyes before giving in and nodding, {Fine, but I get a full loaf of bread!}

Kirito plopped down on the ground and rested his back against a tree trunk, simultaneously opening his menu and tossing a loaf of bread to his Pokémon. Kiriko rolled onto her back and caught it with her paws but paused with her mouth open wide halfway to the bread.

{Master, activate Searching, I feel something vibrating.}

Startled, Kirito's eyes glowed green as he scanned his surroundings and stopped as he saw a cursor near a tree.

"Hey, come out from behind that tree! I know you're there, what the hell are you playing at?"

Kiriko dropped the loaf of bread on the ground as she jumped to her feet while changing her form to that of a Poochyena. The durability of the bread dropped to zero and Kirito felt a tinge of regret and anger emanating from the channel in his mind connected to his Zorua's "consciousness".

A boy around Kirito's age stepped out from behind the tree with his hands above his head to signal his nonaggression. The boy had slightly long brown hair and was of average height with light leather armor and a buckler. Flying beside him was a yellow bee Pokémon with 3 faces arranged in the shape of a honeycomb. Its wings made a barely identifiable buzzing sound and vibrated too quickly for Kirito to see. It had a sad expression on its face that looked out of place. Kirito wondered what had happened to make a normally happy Pokémon like Combee look so depressed but was more concerned with the boy in front of him.

"Sorry! Sorry! I was about to come out I swear, I just got here and was surprised to see another person is all. You must be a beta tester too, right?"

Relaxing a bit, Kirito nodded before responding.

"Yeah, I am, I'm guessing you're here for the Anneal Blade quest too then. The quest reward can only go to one person per item drop though so it's probably better if we work on this alone."

"Wait up, you know that farming is more efficient with two people, and as you can see I have a pretty weak Pokémon that makes soloing difficult until I can get a level or two under my belt. Would you mind help me out in leveling for a bit? We can work together and I'll let you have the first drop we find. Promise!"

{I don't trust this boy, he's bad news. We don't know how long he was watching us and he definitely could've seen my actual form. Besides, look at his Combee, it's miserable.}

{I know what you're saying but I've already ditched one person tonight. If I leave this boy and he dies it'll be my fault. Not to mention that teaming up with him will make this a lot faster. We're taking 3 hits to kill a Bellsprout right now unless we land a critical hit. It's not like he's gonna overpower us with just a Combee anyways and we need to get that Weepinbell stem to finish the quest. We'll run if he starts acting weird alright?}

Having gotten consent from Kiriko, Kirito looked back towards Coper who was staring at the Poochyena at his feet. As Coper looked back up at him, Kirito thought he saw a look of longing in his expression that was almost immediately replaced by a nervous smile.

"What do you say, partners?"

"Alright, just for today, I'm Kirito and this is my starter Ki.. er.. Poochy."

{Really? Poochy is the best you could come up with?!} the voice echoed in his mind as he walked forward and shook Coper's hand.

"I'm Coper and this is Bug. He's a Combee."

Kirito gave the bee Pokémon a look of sympathy. Male Combee were unable to evolve into Vespiqueen and they had very low individual stats compared to most final evolutions. While it wasn't too bad at this point in the game, it would be almost completely useless after the first few gyms. Still, that didn't mean you had to treat it badly. _Can I really judge him for that though? I got a rare Pokémon as my starter and this is a death game now. If I got such a weak Pokémon at the beginning I'm not sure how I'd react. Still though, I couldn't stand to see my Pokémon sad like this regardless of what it was._

30 minutes later, Kirito had to admit that partying up with the other boy was paying off. They had been able to take out Bellsprout at double the rate while taking minimal damage since the combination attack from the 4 of them was enough to take out the weak solo mobs in this area. No Weepinbell had appeared though and the sun was beginning to set. Kirito pondered calling it a day when suddenly he felt a hand tug his left arm. Looking towards the source of the tug, Kirito noticed 3 Pokémon in a small clearing. On the left and center were two Bellsprouts, but on the right a Weepinbell had appeared.

"I'll engage the Bellsprouts and draw them away from you but you'll need to leash the Weepinbell so I don't take aggro from it. I promised you dibs on the first drop after all."

"Thanks, I really appreciate it. Hopefully we'll find a second soon."

With that, Coper took off to the left with his Combee, and a gust attack got the attention of the two grass-type Pokémon. Super Effective moves in this game did 1.2x damage in order to still give type advantages while making it possible to win fights despite the matchup. Super effective moves also took priority in acquiring aggro, so the Bellsprout immediately turned towards Coper and started chasing after him while shooting Razor Leaf attacks in his direction. The Weepinbell began to turn towards the commotion as well but Kirito was already prepared for this and slammed his sword into its yellow bulbous body with a Horizontal, a one-hit sword skill. The evolved Bellsprout turned towards Kirito with a furious gaze and shot its vines towards him in a Wrap attack that would trap him and inflict continuous damage over time. Kirito was already leaping away from the vines however, and after checking that Coper wasn't in sight, he commanded his Zorua to attack with a dark pulse attack. Weepinbell had higher HP and defenses than Bellsprout so he would need to rely on the high base damage of Dark Pulse and Zorua's above the norm special attack stat. A sphere of dark energy formed in the mouth of the Poochyena by his side and shot into Weepinbell knocking it back into a tree and bringing it down close to half health.

{Move towards its left side and I'll approach from the right, be careful to dodge any powder moves. I have antidotes but I only have 1 or 2 paralyze heals and no awakenings.}

The Weepinbell had recovered from being knocked back but seemed confused by the two-pronged approach of Kirito and his Pokémon as it turned back and forth. Suddenly, its vines grew in length and rose on either side of its body in the beginning of a Vine Whip.

{Quick, Sucker Punch and switch out towards me.}

The distance between Zorua and Weepinbell seemed to melt surprisingly fast as an aura filled swipe knocked it between the eyes. The priority move would hit before most moves could execute, but would fail if the opponent was not preparing to attack. Fortunately, Kiriko's attack preempted the Vine Whip and she dived towards the right side. The whips on the left and right of the Weepinbell immediately began to change their orientation and snake through the air after her but were knocked away with a single sweep of Kirito's sword. Jumping forward with a yell, Kirito slammed his glowing red sword between the eyes of the Weepinbell at the spot Sucker Punch had just weakened with a Rage Spike attack. The Weepinbell's health shot down another 40% as Kirito entered his move's delay state. Noticing his opponent's movement, he instructed Kiriko to end the battle with a Faint Attack as he braced his body for impact. A powerful Slam knocked him away and he gasped for breath before remembering the wind couldn't be knocked out of you in this game, nor did you need to breath. Opening his menu, he selected a potion and chugged it quickly before looking up just in time to see the Weepinbell dissolving into particles from his Zorua's attack. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed his health crawling back towards 80% as his potion took effect. Kiriko's HP remained at 100% as no attack had broken her Illusion. Illusion allowed a Zorua to change shapes to a Pokémon or to a human imperfectly but being hit by an attack would break it and put the ability on a cooldown.

A level up icon by his own cursor popped up as the battle result screen appeared, and after ensuring that the Weepinbell Stem had been acquired, he quickly added three skill points to strength and two to agility before rushing forward and scooping up Kiriko in elation.

{Great job! You did awesome out there, let's find Coper and head home.}

Kirito let his Zorua hop out of his arms before calling Coper's name and walking towards where he had last seen him. He didn't see any Bellsprout but smelled a faintly sugary fragrance. His Zorua sniffed and began walking toward the scent in a trance-like motion. A few steps later, he noticed Coper standing by a tree next to his Combee, as a pink cloud of pollen with a thick aroma emanated from it. The bee Pokémon looked towards Kirito with a look of pleading and despair that he did not immediately understand.

"Coper? What's going on?"

With a gasp, Kiriko came out of the trance. {Kirito that's sweet scent. It'll attract Pokémon from all over the forest. We need to run for it now.}

"I really am sorry Kirito, it's nothing against you but I can't make it in this world with a Combee, and I saw earlier that you have a Zorua. I don't want to do this but I have to. Please try to understand, or don't I guess, it doesn't really matter now."

With that, Coper's avatar became blurry and seemed to melt into the tree. _Shit, shit, shit, he activated the hiding skill. I've got to get out of here._

From the area Kirito had just come from, he heard the shuffling of numerous plant Pokémon moving in their direction. Turning quickly, he saw the outlines of nearly 10 Bellsprout, a Weepinbell, and a small purple Pokémon with glowing red eyes. _Should I warn him? No, if I leave him I'll have a better chance at escaping, and he just tried to MPK me anyways. I've got to hurry and run or I could seriously die here._

With that, Kirito began sprinting in the opposite direction of the approaching Pokémon, giving a pitying glance towards the Combee that was still shooting off its Sweet Scent dejectedly. Zorua followed him as he ducked under tree limbs and dodged a few grass Pokémon that appeared in his path. Behind him he heard a scream in the direction he had come from, as the boy had no doubt been discovered. There were a few rare Venonats in these woods that usually had the ability Compound Eyes. The ability raised their accuracy and allowed them to see clearly in the dark. Unbeknownst to Coper, this ability would see right through his hiding skill easily at the low level he was now, and he must have just realized it. Kirito had his own problems though as he had run into a rock wall that acted as the Western boundary for Viridian Forest. Cursing his luck, Kirito turned to face North but found himself surrounded by 7 Bellsprout.

{Kiriko, use dark pulse every time the cool down period ends and don't get hit by Sleep Powder or Stun Spore at all costs. I'm going to try to draw their attention so I need to count on you to have my back.}

{Got it.}

Kiriko abruptly charged up a Dark Pulse and fired it at the center of the cluster as she leaped back and to the left. No sooner had the pulse left her mouth than Kirito charged forwards behind the pulse and speared through the Bellsprout that had just been hit with his sword, dissolving it into crystals. The AOE from dark pulse also minorly damaged the two Bellsprout next to it and stopped them from attacking him, but Kirito still paid the price for his risky maneuver as he felt a Razor Leaf attack and Vine Whip ram into him from the same side, knocking off 30% of his health instantly. He quickly glanced towards the other direction and dived away from a stun spore only to jump right into the path of another Vine Whip, knocking his health into the yellow. Stun Spore and Sleep Powder both had the same effect on humans in this game, namely afflicting them with the Paralysis status effect and significantly lowering their movement speed. Being able to put humans to sleep instantly posed a number of problems in the game and was quickly realized to be overpowered, leading to the current system being instituted in its place. Kirito didn't have time to ponder this though as he dashed away from the Bellsprout and tried to formulate a plan.

Fortunately for Kirito, it appeared that the Stun Spore attack had accidentally paralyzed two of the Bellsprout. If he continued to fight near them, he could hopefully get them to paralyze one another and take them out after that. Glancing at his health, he quickly dismissed this option as suicidal as a single misstep would end his life. _Not that a single mistake won't end my life now anyways._ The yells from Coper had stopped and Kirito assumed that the boy had died. A dark pulse fired off from beside him pulled him back to his current predicament as one of the paralyzed Bellsprout shattered into fragments.

{Master, I will attack in the midst of them and distract them while you attack from the sides. I nearly have full health and this is no time to worry about my Illusion fading.}

Not waiting for a response, Kiriko dashed into the midst of the Bellsprout and caught one near the far right with a Faint Attack. Hesitating for a moment Kirito dashed to the Pokémon on the far left and parried its Vine Whip before retaliating in kind with a Horizontal. There was no time to use the more powerful multi-hit skills and Kirito noticed his Zorua's health falling quickly as he side stepped a Razor Leaf and ended the Bellsprout with a quick chop to its neck. As he finished the stroke he concentrated hard on his Zorua's position in his consciousness and suddenly could see a mental image of Kiriko's vision in his mind, a technique he had learned to utilize through extensive battling during the beta.

{Jump to the right over that Vine Whip and use Dark Pulse.} He turned back to the battle at hand and saw another Dark Pulse crash into a Bellsprout, draining its life points and inflicting minor damage on another one. _If I land a critical hit on that one it should die but I have to move fast._

Charging his sword, Kirito dived towards the Bellsprout with a Sonic Leap and heard a sickening slice as his blade met the Bellsprout where its head attached to its body. Taking another Vine Whip to his back, Kirito watched his health drain to about 30%, matching Kiriko's HP. His Zorua lunged forward with a sucker punch to finish off another Bellsprout before it's Razor Leaf attack could go off and Kirito sighed with relief. _Only 2 more, we can still do this._ Having relaxed his guard, Kirito did not notice the sleep powder shooting from the direction of the unaccounted Bellsprout until it was too late. Stunned momentarily by the green powder around her, Kiriko's eyes opened wide as she realized what had happened and collapsed on the ground a second later. Sleep in this game caused a Pokémon to sleep until the opponent had attempted two attacks or until 30 seconds had passed. This had generally proved (temporarily) fatal for any Pokémon afflicted with sleep in trainer battles during the beta period.

In a sudden fit of rage, Kirito launched himself towards the offending Bellsprout and knocked off its remaining life-points with a powerful 2-hit Vertical Arc. In the corner of his vision, Kirito saw his Zorua's health drop to 10% from another vine whip and couldn't prevent himself from flinching. Looking back, he saw the Bellsprout rearing back for another attack. _Oh God I'm not going to make it, Kiriko I'm so sorry. I should have listened to you and just gone back to town._

Kirito's eyes welled up and his sword dropped to his side, knowing that he would be unable to reach his Zorua before the attack or get her to a Pokémon center in time. The vine flicked from the Bellsprout's waist directly towards his only Pokémon, coming within inches of it only to be suddenly knocked aside by a gust of wind in the shape of a miniature tornado. The tornado continued on its path after stopping the vine and inflicted super effective damage on the Bellsprout that drained the rest of its HP. Kirito looked up, startled, to find a desperate looking Combee flying towards his location. It had gashes all over it and couldn't have had more than 5% of its HP remaining from the look of things.

{More coming, I can slow them down but I can't stop them. Run. What are you waiting for? RUN.}

With that the Combee turned around and Kirito noticed the horde that had attacked Coper had grown in size and was converging on his location. Rushing forward to scoop up Kiriko, he turned and ran towards the North. Looking over his shoulder he noticed the Combee staring at the approaching Pokémon with determination in its eyes as it released its String Shot attack towards them.

{If you can hear this, you saved both of our lives. I'm sorry you were stuck with the trainer you got, you deserved better. Thank you.}

Kirito thought he saw a tiny tear slip from one of the Combee's eyes in the brief moment before a flurry of attacks hit it all at once. Tearing his eyes away from the sad sight, Kirito ran towards the exit with his Zorua wrapped firmly in his arms and didn't stop until he reached the Pokémon center in Pewter City, the Combee's sacrifice having done just enough to prevent the Pokémon chasing after Kirito from overtaking him.

* * *

 **This concludes the first day of this fic. The beginning of this fic follows the early storyline of SAO and the Progressive novels since I think those events are important to Kirito's character and translate well to a Pokemon/SAO crossover anyways. The Coper story translates especially well, and I think his actions are believable for a teenager who's just been trapped in a death game with a starter that will be nearly useless in battle as the game progresses. From this point on, the story will begin to blend the main SAO storyline with events from the SAO games, original storylines, and the Pokemon games and anime. I recently tried to clean up the first few chapters of this fic but I'm sure I missed some things, so feel free to tell me if I made a mistake in my writing or something doesn't make sense and I'll fix it as soon as possible!**


	6. Chapter 6

Right outside of Viridian city and hidden in a small nook behind a grove of trees, was a pond with crystal blue water. Occasionally a bubble would make its way up to the surface and pop, leaving a small rippling effect as concentric circles moved outwards into the rest of the pond before losing their energy and lazily fading away.

With a rusted pole held in his right hand and his left rubbing the ears of a small dog Pokémon beside him, the black-haired teenager was the picture of relaxation. His back was sloped at an angle against the grassy hill and his eyes seemed to do a little dance, moving slowly downwards until they closed before they were forcefully jerked back open, only to close again a few moments later. Shaking his head to clear the mothballs and glancing at the napping Pokémon at his side, Kirito smiled. _Maybe I should just call it a day, the sun's beginning to set and it's still dangerous to fall asleep here, no matter how much I want to._

Suddenly, his poll jerked in his right hand. Caught in surprise, Kirito nearly lost his grip on the poll before hopping to his feet and jerking it upwards. The Pokémon on the hook must have been much lighter than he had expected as the line came flying out of the water and he found himself stumbling backwards until his rear hit the ground. The hook followed the line and caught the tail of the Poochyena sitting beside him. With a yelp, the Pokémon's illusion broke and an angry Zorua appeared in its place.

After looking around for a few seconds, the Pokémon gave Kirito a threatening glare before shaking to dislodge its tail from the hook. {Do that again and I'll make you wish you'd never been born. You owe me a treat tonight.}

A sheepish grin came onto Kirito's face as he shrugged helplessly and agreed to the conditions of the startled Pokémon. It was the least he could do after making her sit through nearly 30 battles with the almost completely useless Magikarp all day. _I can't do this quest more than once, the XP gains and reward from it are pretty good, but battling such weak Pokémon is bound to make me complacent. At least no one saw me fall on my butt and snag my own Pokémon with the hook._

No sooner had the thought crossed his mind than he caught the sounds of giggling growing louder behind him. Tensing up, he leaped to his feet once again to turn and face the source, only to hear a "Yelp" from his side as he had unwittingly hooked his Zorua's tail again. At this, the familiar girl in front of him nearly fell to the ground laughing, tears streaming out of her eyes. After what felt to Kirito like an eternity but couldn't have been more than ten seconds, the humiliating laughter began to die away and the girl wiped her eyes.

"Oi Kii-bou, your luck amazes me. I thought you could only catch Magikarp with the Old Rod but here you've managed to catch a rare Dark-type Pokémon, not once but twice!"

Kirito was used to this teasing by now from the girl in front of him. Her name was Argo although she was more commonly known as "The Rat", both due to her line of work as an information broker and the 3 yellow whiskers she had drawn onto both sides of her face. Kirito had known her, or rather her former avatar, during the beta and would chat and buy information from her at times. She was one of the only people he actually talked to in this death game and one of only two people on his friends list.

"Speaking of which, I've got another offer for your," *air quotes* "Poochyena, from the same buyer. They're offering 2500 Pokéyen now."

"2500 Pokéyen for a Pokémon you can catch nearly anywhere? They must be out of their mind. You haven't told anyone what my Pokémon really is, right Argo? You're one of the only two people who's seen Kiriko's real form and lived the to tell the tale."

"Was that supposed to be scary or something? Give me a break, you already told me how that Coper kid MPKed himself. Besides, that's not my style. I would never sell information that could get someone innocent killed, like having a rare starter or being a beta tester. Besides, I care too much about you to sell you out Kii-Bou."

Kirito's face flushed beet red and he turned towards his Zorua to try to hide his embarrassment only to find Kiriko snickering at his predicament.

{Master are you okay? Your heart beat has practically doubled and your face looks like it might be overheating.}

{You-you can't sense my heart rate, I'm just flustered still from falling earlier is all. It's nothing like that.}

Kiriko rolled her eyes at him as he turned back to face Argo, having gathered himself.

"Huh, well it still seems really peculiar to me that they'd offer so much, who's the buyer?"

"Well, that information is something you'd have to buy, with a 1000 Pokéyen privacy tag. If you want to find out, it'll cost you at least that much as long as they don't up the ante."

"Nah I'll pass, obviously I'm not willing to trade still. Anyways, what ever happened with that rumor about the 'Secret Log-Out Point'? Did anyone actually believe it?"

"Actually, someone did and nearly died for it. I found them about to enter that pitch-black Rock Tunnel with level 1 gear. It was some girl in a hooded cloak muttering about a high school entrance exam. I gave them a guidebook and convinced them not to go in, but I never did find out who was spreading the rumor under my name in the first place."

Argo frowned and chewed her lip, her eyes widened ever so slightly as a message ping appeared in the corner of her vision.

"I gotta go Kii-boy, duty calls. Say, wanna buy the latest update to the guide? I'll give you a nice discount."

Argo placed her hand on her hip and gave Kirito a wink.

"Shouldn't I be getting these for free after writing most of the combat section for you? Give me half off at least."

"Alright alright! You win" Argo threw up her hands in mock surrender as she began to walk away. "I'll wire it over to you, see you at the boss meeting. Tomorrow at 5, remember."

Kirito watched the girl walk away until she was nearly out of sight. _It wouldn't be out of character for her to double back on me._

{Oh lighten up, that girl means no harm. Besides she's kinda cute. Isn't she, master?}

Ignoring the Pokémon beside him for the moment, Kirito searched for the fishing pole he'd dropped in his haste and casted it lightly back out into the water.

{Come on let's finish this up so we can go home. We only need one more Magikarp scale to finish the quest and this is the only way to get a Great Ball before Celadon.}

Catching Pokémon in this game was pretty similar to how it was in the original games, although the chance of catching a Pokémon seemed to be partially based on how well suited the Pokémon and the trainer were for one another using some unknown algorithm. Still, lowering the Pokémon's health or giving it a status effect were the best way to catch one, besides using a more effective Pokéball. Kirito had been trying to capture an Abra in the nearby field to make up for his Zorua's weakness to fighting types, but it had either died after one hit or broken out from his Pokéball every time before Teleporting to safety. He'd had no trouble catching a variety of other Pokémon like Weedle, Zigzagoon, and even an actual Poochyena, but he didn't want to begin training a Pokémon now that he knew would be a burden to his team later on.

{Tomorrow we'll take another shot at catching Abra before we start mapping Mt. Moon.}

* * *

 _I hate whoever invented this dumb, stupid game,_ Asuna thought to herself as she dodged yet another echolocation attack from the blue and purple bat in front of her. Bending her knees slightly to gather potential energy, the rapier in her right hand began to glow orange in the beginning of a sword skill. In an instant, she pushed off of the ground with all of the force she could muster and cleared the distance between herself and the Pokémon quicker than someone with her agility stat should possibly be able to. Looking for all the world like a shooting star rifling through the air, she pierced the Zubat through its left ear, leaving a gash of red particles that depleted most of the Pokémon's remaining HP. _And why are there so many of these weird-looking bats? I swear they've been 90% of the monsters I've fought down here._

She was currently in Mt. Moon, a low-level dungeon that would take her to Cerulean City. The dungeon was filled with Zubats, Geodudes, and the occasional Paras. Players could also activate the Team Rocket campaign in here and attain a rare fossil that would be useful later on. Asuna didn't know any of this though. She hadn't bothered to learn the names of the Pokémon she was fighting, where the dungeon would take her, or what else she could do in the dungeon besides killing off wave after wave of Zubats. She had to be one of the only people in this game who knew nothing about Pokémon when they put the NerveGear on their head. _And it wasn't even mine in the first place, it belongs to my brother! If I'd just been studying for the high school entrance exams like I should have been doing, I wouldn't have ended up here in the first place. Whatever, I don't care anymore._

Noticing the Zubat hadn't quite died, Asuna issued the single battle command she'd learned during her time in this game, {Flamethrower attack.} From behind her, a powerful flame jetted from the mouth of a small orange fox. The attack burst into the Zubat and it instantly shattered into particles.

{Good job, let's keep fighting.}

{Master I'm starving, please give me something to eat? Battling on an empty stomach is killing me and we've been in here for days.}

The foxlike Pokémon rolled onto its side, its 6 tails bouncing lightly off the stone floor, while staring up at Asuna with its brown-orbed Baby-Doll Eyes.

Asuna felt bad for the Pokémon, she really did. It hadn't asked to be her partner in the game just like she hadn't asked to be trapped in this game in the first place. It was all she had to talk to when she was hiding in the Town of Beginnings for the first week of the game and had probably kept her from losing her mind. Still though, that didn't change that she hadn't brought any food with her in the first place.

 _Its body is digital just like mine, if I can fight through the pain I'm feeling then I'm sure it can too. Besides, it's not even sentient in the first place. It's made of data just like the rest of the monsters designed to kill me in here._

"That was overkill you know."

A voice floated towards her from a ledge a bit above her and to the left. Slightly rotating her neck to see a boy with black hair and eyes, Asuna responded inquisitively but devoid of emotion.

"What do you mean?"

"Your Pokémon's attack, that was Flamethrower, right? That move has high base damage but limited PP, or Power Points, so using it too much will wear out your Pokémon. If it uses the move too much, it'll run out when you really need it. Against a Pokémon with only a few Hit Points left, it'd be better to use Ember."

"Oh, is that all? For my purpose, it doesn't really matter if my Pokémon's PP runs out. If anything, that'll make it quicker."

"Wait, what are you trying to do in here? From the look of that cloak you must have been here for days."

"I use the safe room to rest and I brought extra rapiers here with me, if that's all you have to say then I'll be on my way."

With that, Asuna walked towards the next area of the cave, striding past a stalactite overhang as her Vulpix scampered to catch up. She surveyed the area quickly as she noticed a single bat fluttering in the air near a rock with two arms.

{Kitsune, use Flamethrower on the rock, I'm going to attack it right after and then we can focus on the bat.}

Despite its exhaustion, her Vulpix got in position before releasing a beam of flame towards the Geodude that lit up the cavern. If Asuna had used this chance to check her surroundings, she would have noticed a second Zubat on the opposite side of the Geodude, in the shadow of a pillar. As it was, she had sprinted towards the rock Pokémon with remarkable determination and used her Linear sword skill.

The skill in combination with the Flamethrower was not enough to drain the Geodude's HP however, leaving it with a third of its health. It would still take time to recover from the attack though and Asuna instantly turned her attention towards the Zubat flying nearby. From its mouth shot a poisonous looking purple needle with a number of barbs on it. Jumping to the side, Asuna neatly dodged the attack and readied herself to attack the Geodude once more when a bizarre sound wave assaulted her from the side.

She immediately clapped her hands to her ears but it had no effect on the sickening ringing sound inside of her skull. The combination of fatigue, hunger, and confusion had taken its toll on her. With a shrill scream, she dropped her rapier and fell to her knees. _It looks like this is the end,_ she thought to herself as she began to lose consciousness. Her head dropped to the floor with a dull thud and her vision was tunneling into a circle that was rapidly shrinking in size. _I didn't let this world beat me, I was myself to the very end. Hopefully that was enough._ The last thing she saw before her vision closed completely was a large rock being hurled directly towards her body.

* * *

 _Mmm, 5 more minutes and I'll get up._ Asuna was laying on a flat grassy area in the shade of a tree. She was laying on her side and her Vulpix was curled against her stomach, snoring adorably. Feeling an itching sensation on her face, Asuna patted the ground beside her looking for her pillow, only to realize that she had a handful of grass and not the bedsheets she had expected to find. Confused, Asuna opened her eyes and turned to spot a boy with black hair and eyes sitting on a brick wall in front of her. His back was to her but his head was turned towards her, and he was watching her with a cautious expression.

 _Do I know that boy? No.. wait I remember, he was in the dungeon with me. I-I thought I was dead for sure. I still remember the rock coming towards me and I was surrounded when I fell unconscious._ Her face suddenly flushed as she checked to make sure that she still had all her equipment on. The boy didn't look dangerous but you could never be too sure. Angrily she looked back up at him and began to rise to her feet as she demanded:

"Tell me what you did to me."

The boy leaped forwards off the wall and turned to face her again, using the wall as a barrier.

"I didn't do anything to you, I promise! You were about to die when I got into that room so I killed the Pokémon attacking you and got you out of the cave. That's it, I swear on my life!"

".. …. Why?"

"Ex-excuse me?"

"Why'd you do it? Why did you save me?"

The boy cocked his head to the side, "I don't know, I didn't really think about it. I guess it seemed like the right thing to do."

He had been nervous when he started talking to her but suddenly his face broke into a little grin, "Besides, it'd be a shame to waste all that map data you got while you were in there."

With a huff, Asuna brought open her menu, and after a series of swipes and clicks, a paper scroll materialized in her right hand. She tossed it towards the boy and he caught it in his left hand before transferring it to his menu.

"Well if that's all, I'll be going. I don't blame you for saving me, but next time, don't bother."

"Can I ask you something? … What, um, what exactly are you fighting for? It doesn't seem like you're trying to get stronger or beat the game so I'm just a little confused."

Asuna snorted, "Beat the game? That's impossible. Are you really that dense? Every single one of us is going to die in here, it's only a matter of time. There's no beating this game, but to answer your question, I want to be myself. While I can't beat the game, I don't have to let it beat me. If I go out with my head held high and fighting till the end, then whoever made this world won't get the satisfaction of breaking me too. That's why I fight."

The boy in front of her looked stunned. "Wow, I'd have never thought of it that way, while I can't say we see eye to eye on this, it's oddly inspirational I think. Anyways, if you're planning to die fighting then why not go to the meeting for the first Elemental Boss today? It starts in like 20 minutes and it's nearby."

Asuna wanted to decline but she could see no reason not to attend. _If there's any chance of us beating this game then I might as well give it a chance like I did with that secret log-out point. And if we don't, then a Boss Fight is as good of a place to die as any._

"Fine, but first I need to buy something to eat. I didn't really eat anything while I was in that dungeon and my Pokémon is starving."

The boy brought out his menu and manipulated it with ease to produce 6 small loafs of a dark wheat bread. Hopping the wall, he handed her two of the loafs of bread and carefully placed two of them on the ground next to the Vulpix. Sitting down, he tossed a loaf of bread to the Poochyena she'd just noticed was beside him. The small fox Pokémon by her side began to turn in its sleep and sniffed the air a few times before waking up and ravenously devouring the bread. Giggling, Asuna patted it on the head, {You've earned it so feast up, I promise I'll bring enough food for at least you from now on okay?} before turning to her own food.

She ate the first loaf quickly enough. _Even this bland bread tastes amazing to me right now, I don't think I've ever wanted food so badly in my life._

Hesitating, the boy beside her brought up his menu again and produced a small brown jar with a picture of a cow Pokémon on it. With two fingers, he touched the top of the jar and a glowing white light appeared around them. He proceeded to wipe his fingers on the air right above the loaf of bread which caused a thick, creamy substance to fall onto the bread. The boy took a bite and sighed contentedly. Looking towards Asuna who's mouth was practically drooling and then back to the jar, he eloquently asked:

"Mwrant tsum?"

Ignoring for the moment that the boy had talked with his mouth full in favor of appeasing her stomach, Asuna quickly nodded and reached forward towards the jar with two fingers. The jar exploded into tiny star bits and disappeared after she did so, and she applied the cream to her bread. Taking a small, curious bite, her eyes lit up and she immediately devoured the rest of her food. She looked down at her hands and rubbed her belly fondly. _I think that was the tastiest thing I've ever eaten. Fake data signals to my brain or not, that was delicious._

Kirito finished up a few seconds later, having taken a bit more time to savor his food.

"So, should we be going? If we leave now we should get there just in time for the meeting."

* * *

Kirito walked into the courtyard and looked around. The place looked like a small stadium with rows of bleachers providing ample room for seating. There looked to be around 40 or so people sitting down with their Pokémon and he spotted a familiar person in the back of the bleacher section with a small purple rat on her shoulder. She was checking her messages but quickly closed them as she noticed the two figures approaching her.

"Kii-bou, you made it! I was starting to worry you wouldn't show. And who's this."

The girl to his opposite side looked away to better hide her face as she sat down but Argo seemed to have already recognized her.

"Ah I remember now, Fencer-san! Can't say I expected to see you here of all people but the more the merrier."

Asuna looked like she was about to respond when suddenly, the muttering around them died down. Glancing towards the stage, Kirito saw a handsome man with spiked up blue-hair stepping up to the podium. He had an aura around him that seemed to signal him as a charismatic individual, and he was wearing a purple shirt with a green and yellow charm necklace around his neck. With an air of confidence, he began speaking at just the right volume for everyone in the stadium to hear him without having to yell.

"Welcome everyone, and thank you for coming here today. My name is Diabel, and in this game, I consider myself to be a Pokémon Master," he said as he put his hand atop the head of the blue turtle Pokémon on his side, Squirtle.

Many members of the crowd laughed and the tension in the stadium dropped noticeably.

"Isn't it a bit early to be calling yourself a Pokémon master?"

"Yeah, show us your badges!"

"I must admit that I don't have any badges yet but I'll be sure to start acquiring them after we defeat the first Elemental Boss with zero fatalities, alright? I plan to be a master in this game but I also intend to get as many people out of here safely as I possibly can. As a trainer, I consider it my duty to protect those too weak to fight for themselves, be it a Pokémon or those people too scared to move from the Town of Beginnings."

This was met by a number of cheers and an almost coordinated chant from the first row.

"Yeah Diabel!"

"He's the man."

"If he can't do it no one can!"

With an infectious smile, Diabel continued, "Yesterday, my party found the boss room in the first labyrinth. With the numbers here today, I believe we have what it takes to take on the first boss safely. If there aren't any objections, I'd like to brainstorm some strategies to fight while we're gathered here."

"I've got an objection," an angry voice came from the top of the stands where a short man with oddly-spiked brown hair resided. With a grunt, he jumped from the top of the stands down two rows at a time until landing roughly on the stage.

"Some of the people in these stands need to apologize, you left us all to die at the beginning of the game and took all the good quests and training spots. I know you're out there, stand up!"

"Sir, ah, what may I call you? And could you explain who exactly you're talking about?"

"The name's Kibaou," the man said as he obnoxiously stuck his thumb up towards his face. On his shoulder stood a Cacnea who looked ridiculously similar to him due to the number of spikes emerging from its green, somewhat humanoid body.

"Got it? And I'm talking about the good-for-nothing beta testers who left us all to die at the beginning of the game."

Kirito gulped as he looked around the crowd. There were muted whispers but most people simply didn't know how to react to this blunt accusation.

"In case you haven't heard, 3000 people have died in this game already. The responsibility to keep those people safe should have been on the beta testers, and they just let them die while they trained to get stronger themselves. Well I won't have it!" Kibaou spat with passionate anger on his face.

Murmurs of assent increased in volume in the crowd with the occasional "Yeah, he's right." On his side, Kirito noticed Argo slinking away, out of the stadium.

"Can I say something?"

From the front row stood a strikingly large black man. The game used the player's real-life height so he had to be this big in real life as well. The axe strapped to his back gave him an even more imposing look, which was added to by the muscle-bound humanoid Pokémon on either side of him, Machop and Timburr. From his menu, he pulled out a small booklet.

"My name's Agil. This here is a detailed guide book for new players. It covers the basics of Pokémon and how the fighting works in this game, as well as the Pokémon in each zone. This book and its various updates have been free in every town I've visited since the beginning of the game."

A wave of grumbling ran through the crowd. _Free?! Where the hell did Argo slink off to? I demand a refund._ Ignoring them, the man continued on.

"This information is far too detailed to be written by anyone other than a beta tester this early in the game. It's unfortunate that people died, but the beta testers did all they could. Let's not forget that the real bad guy here is the one who trapped us in this game, not each other."

"Eloquently put, Agil-san!" Diabel interjected. "We must also not forget that we will require at least 5 highly skilled players to defeat the League of Elites. Taking items and Pokémon from our top players will only make it more difficult to beat the game. With that said, Kibaou-san. I would like to return to the strategy portion of this meeting if it's alright with you."

The man grunted, clearly displeased with how the tides had turned, but assented and sat down in the first row of the stadium cross-legged with his arms crossed over his chest as well.

"Hey Diabel, over here! The store in the town just released a free guidebook for the boss battle!"

"Hmm, let me take a look at that. 'It's fine. This is Argo's Strategy Guide: First Boss Edition'… It seems to have detailed information on the whole fight… The weapons used by the boss.. expected adds and their abilities.. and even the health and attacks of Brock's main Pokémon."

Kibaou had a sour look on his face and seemed to be on the verge of saying something, but ultimately held his tongue. _Good, we don't need any more beta tester hate than he's inspired already._

"With this information, we can avoid doing dangerous and time-consuming reconnaissance trips to the boss room! Now then, why don't we go ahead and split up into parties of 6 before discussing strategy so that we can assign roles."

People turned naturally towards the people next to them and began to form groups. Groups could be made up of 6 people at most in this game, and Elemental Battles could have up to 8 parties in a raid. Glancing around, Kirito counted the full groups he saw in front of him. _24… that makes 36.. 42. Oh crap, that's everybody, there are no groups left._ Worriedly he checked the left side of the stadium for any of the nonexistent groups that still needed members, before remembering the girl beside him.

"Well, I guess that makes us partners for this battle huh?" he asked her weakly. "As long as that's fine with you of course."

"If you invite me to your party I'll have no choice but to accept."

The rest of the meeting went smoothly and at the end, Diabel came up to them.

"It appears that you are only a party of two, correct?"

"Uh, not exactly, we have a third but she had to skip the end of the meeting. I'll be sure to let her know everything we discussed though."

"Ah that's fine, since you're such a small group, will you be okay with tackling the adds on the side?"

"Sure, that's an important role too, and there's no helping it since we're such a small party."

"Perfect, thank you for being so understanding."

Diabel looked towards his partner and a hint of surprise momentarily showed in his eyes. Turning back towards Kirito, he whispered into his ear quietly while extending his fist for a fist bump.

"The only two women participating in the boss battle have both joined your party for the boss battle? Color me impressed. Please do keep them safe."

Kirito's face turned a tinge of red but he bumped the man's fist back in a friendly manner.

"I'll be able to protect myself just fine, thanks."

Diabel looked a tad embarrassed at the cloaked girl's response, but simply raised his hand in a nonchalant way as a substitute for an apology. As the man walked back towards his group, Kirito thought he faintly heard the words, "Smell ya later."

"Did he just say.."

"No way, it must have been the wind."

* * *

Kirito was laying on the couch in his living room at the moment. He tried to concentrate on reading the guidebook for the first boss, but the words just didn't seem to make any sense to him. Sighing, he glanced towards the bathroom briefly where he'd just imagined hearing giggling and splashing for the umpteenth time. Gritting his teeth, he returned back to his menu.

{Master, you're holding the book upside down. Is something distracting you?}

His Zorua was back in its base form and was watching him with amusement. With a mischievous grin, her body twisted upwards, and suddenly the female version of Kirito was smiling back at him, tail wagging behind her back.

{Maybe a cute girl?}

She sat down on the couch beside him and laid her head on his shoulder endearingly.

{Stop that, and no I'm just wondering how I got into this mess of a situation.}

Truthfully, it would have never occurred in a million years for Kirito to invite a girl he had just met to his room. He had mentioned in passing how he was going to return to his room for some Moo-Moo Milk and a bath before the battle tomorrow, when the indifferent girl walking beside him had gotten a wild, star-struck look in her eyes. She forced him to take her to the farmhouse he was staying at and rushed towards the bathroom with a happy shriek. He had tried to explain that there was no lock, but the girl has simply given him a dangerous look that sent multiple warning signals rushing through his mind, before closing the door on her and her Vulpix.

Kirito's reminiscing was interrupted by an intricate knock at the door. Recognizing the knocking pattern as Argo's, he walked to the door in trepidation. He opened the door a quarter of the way and stuck his head out.

"What is it?"

Argo and her Pokémon were having none of that though, as they pushed past Kirito and in to the room.

"That's no way to treat a guest Kii-bou, didn't your mom teach you any manners? Oh hey there Kiriko!"

Argo happily leaped onto the couch and put her arm around the disguised Zorua.

The girl's Rattata was nowhere to be seen, but the boy recognized the purple monkey that had just jumped onto the top of the couch as the girl's starter Pokémon. The Aipom had pasty yellow skin where it was not covered with its purple fur and had mischievous black eyes. A tuft of purple hair sat atop its head, and it had on a goofy grin that one couldn't help but smile at. The hand-shaped extension to its tail reached down and pulled the tail of the black hair girl below it. With a yelp, the girl morphed back into a Zorua and chased the Aipom across the room, attempting to tackle it. Giggling, Argo patted on the couch beside her.

"Come sit, we have business matters to discuss. My client is now willing to offer you 3700 Pokéyen for your Poochyena."

Sitting down beside her, Kirito was stunned at the amount offered for such an easy to catch Pokémon.

"Argo, I want to buy the information who your client is for 1200 Pokéyen."

With a shrug, the girl opened her menu and quickly sent a message. A moment later, a notification popped up, and after giving it a quick glance she closed the menu.

"He doesn't care if you know who he is. Actually, you just saw him earlier today, he goes by the name of Kibaou. You know, models his hairstyle after a medieval mace and has an undying hatred for Beta testers."

 _Weird, why would that guy want my Poochyena so bad, his Cacnea evolves into a dark-type Cacturne eventually and there are no psychic-type gyms nearby._

Glancing towards his Zorua who had appeared to give up on trying to catch the much nimbler Aipom, a plan began to form in his mind. _You know, it's about time that we changed up Zorua's appearance anyways. If I don't want her illusion to break, she'll need to be attacking from far away with Dark Pulse during the boss battle and Poochyena doesn't learn Dark Pulse in the first place. If it was anyone else, I'd feel bad about making this trade, but the man is bound to hate me anyways._

"Alright, I'll accept the trade then."

Argo gasped in shock. "Kirito, how could you? She's your starter Pokémon and you'd trade her away to that jerkoff for a couple bucks?"

His Zorua looked back up at him with confusion, but Kirito simply nodded his head from side-to-side.

"You don't understand, I'm not trading Zorua, I'm trading Poochyena."

Understanding dawned on Argo's face as she opened her menu, smiling madly.

"You know Kirito, I'm impressed, I didn't think you had it in you to pull off something so… devious. Alright, the trade preparations are set. Just open your menu and choose the Pokémon you intend to trade. I'm gonna hop in the bath real quick."

Kirito opened the trade menu and selected a level 3 Poochyena from his 'Box One'. After selecting to confirm the trade, he watched the menu screen as a small avatar of the Pokémon appeared on it and was sucked into a Pokéball before disappearing off the screen completely. In the corner of his menu, he watched as the money in his account increased significantly, offsetting the cost of the information he had bought by nearly triple.

In his distracted state, Kirito didn't think about what Argo had just said until her hand was already on the knob.

"W-wait, Argo, don't go in there."

Too late. With a scream, a barely clothed girl with red hair and a Vulpix came barreling out of the bathroom, water streaming across the floor. She was undeniably stunning, and Kirito couldn't help but stare with his mouth agape as the girl shot daggers at him with her eyes while covering her chest. Seconds later she had made it out of the front door in a mad dash. Roaring laughter came from the bathroom where Argo was clutching the door knob to support herself.

"First the trade and now this? Kii-bou, you surprise me more and more every day!"


	7. Chapter 7

"Did you find out what items she was buying?" Kirito asked as soon as Argo walked into view. He was sitting by the trunk of a tree in an isolated clearing. The grass and sky were as green and blue as could be and the wind rustled his hair slightly, which he reflexively brushed back into place.

"Of course, did you doubt my skills Kii-bou? She's definitely not planning on dying in the raid fight, that's for sure. Although I'm thinking I should charge you extra for the juicy details."

Argo gave him a sinister smile as she recalled a clearly embarrassed girl with chestnut hair asking an NPC for advice on what underwear to buy.

"Nah, I'm good. Here's the Pokéyen I promised you."

"Seriously? You already paid for the information so I'm not gonna charge you more or anything."

"I've already found out what I wanted to know. Asking for anything more will just make me feel like a stalker at this point."

"Fair enough… So you wanted to know that she isn't planning on dying in the raid? I don't get it, why were you so worried about that."

"Well, I wouldn't want a party member dying on me. Besides, it means I can rely on someone else to help do damage while I focus on what I'm doing. It's not like your normal types are gonna be contributing much damage in this raid."

"Kii-bou! Your words wound me," Argo said while dramatically backing into a tree and 'fainting'. "Do you think so little of me and my Pokémon? It's not like fire-types do any better against rock-types."

She gave a meaningful glance to the Houndour at Kirito's side.

"Although I guess that gives Kiriko a reason to stay in the back and avoid attacks."

"Yeah it does, plus, the rock-types we'll be fighting have higher physical defense stats than special defense. And it's not like being an information dealer raises your Pokémon's experience or anything."

"Oh I get it now, since I'm not in a cave grinding all day like you and Fencer-san I'm falling behind as a trainer huh. You better be ready to put your money where your mouth is Kii-bou."

Argo flashed him a grin and rapidly pulled out her menu and began swiping.

"O-of course not Argo, she's a complete beginner so I'm sure you're stronger than her. I don't think you're weak or anything, I swear!"

A notification popped up in front of him and he gasped.

"Argo this is a death game now, you know how serious this is right?"

"Sheesh relax, I put it on half-health mode and we're 5 minutes from the Pokécenter. We have plenty of time to kill before the raid anyways and PVP experience will help us both with the gym battles."

"I-I guess that's fair enough"

With that, Kirito clicked yes on the duel request, and a timer with a minute on it indicating when the battle would start began counting down on his screen.

From his opponent's arm burst two streaking rays of light and an Aipom and a Rattata materialized beside her.

{You can go ahead and dispel your illusion Kiriko. You're gonna need to focus fully if we want a chance at taking this. We're higher-leveled than her and her Pokémon so a single Dark Pulse should bring either of her Pokémon to half health. They do have a speed and numbers advantage though so it might be tough to land one.}

{Got it Master, you can't take it easy on Argo though. She's our friend which would make a loss even more embarrassing.}

{Agreed, don't worry though. We won't lose.}

Kirito equipped his sword, and as the timer hit zero he approached Argo in an arced path on her right side while Kiriko moved to the left. As he'd expected, Argo's Pokémon moved to match his Zorua while Argo faced him, pressing a few buttons on her arm before giving him her full concentration. She had a claw with three spikes equipped on her left hand, and her eyes narrowed as she bent her knees.

 _It seems like she's still using the system to command her Rattata. If I can keep pressing her that should give Kiriko an opening._

Suddenly, Argo leaped forwards to gain ground and dashed to his right side with her claw extended. She was fast, but Kirito was ready and swung his sword to meet her weapon, only to meet empty air. _Damn, a feint._ By the time Kirito realized this, the juke was already complete and Argo was raking her claws on his stomach to the left side.

Kirito continued the swing of his sword in an attempt to catch Argo on her follow-through but she was too quick, ducking below it and delivering a double-strike sword skill to his legs before leaping back to reset the distance.

 _She's too fast for me to catch her with a sword skill and her own skills have short recovery. That only did about 15% though, so I just need to knock her off balance once before she can do that 2 more times._

Glancing at his health bar again, he saw that his Zorua had lost a similar percentage of health as he noticed Argo keying in another command to her Pokémon. He got set in a dueling stance to face Argo again, but this time he slowed his breathing and focused on the other consciousness he felt in his mind. The vision in his eyes dimmed and he could suddenly see what his Zorua was seeing over his own vision. He had tried to explain it to Argo before, and the best way he had come up with to describe it was changing the TV channel after having it stuck on the same screen for too long. You could still see the outlines of the old show faintly behind the new one.

While the senses in this game emulated those in real life, the adaptive technology that merged your consciousness with that of your Pokémon allowed you to feel its strong emotions, feelings, and senses. By concentrating and practicing, you could begin to access your own Pokémon's senses such as vision and hearing, which could be extremely useful when attempting to fight against multiple opponents.

As Argo clicked a final button on her menu in the background, he saw the Aipom begin to use Fury Swipes while the Rattata flanked him, or rather flanked his Zorua, towards the side. _Wait she's using the system to command Aipom? Leave it to the Rat to bond with a Rattata before her starter._

Zorua was put on the defensive as she blocked and dodged backwards to avoid the Fury Swipes, only to be hit by another jarring Tackle where she'd been unable to guard herself. Kirito gritted his teeth.

{Focus on the Rattata for now while drawing closer to my position, I'll make sure she can't control Aipom for a bit.}

It was at this point that Argo lunged towards him once again. Kirito was just barely able to remember to move his body as he focused entirely on the opponent in front of him once again. He swiveled to bring his sword up to parry, but, reading her juke, he was able to bring it back to his side to block her next jab attack. Argo continued to weave in a variety of assaults while not giving Kirito a chance to attack her but he was able to block them by never using any heavy swings that left him open.

Focusing on his Pokémon's vision again, Kirito saw that the Aipom's Fury Swipes had ended and it was walking back and looking at Argo. While it waited for a command, the Rattata stood between it and his own Zorua, acting as a guard. _It doesn't have a command to follow, this is my chance._ {Use Pursuit and ignore the Rattata, it's fine if you get hit.}

Argo had noticed this as well and was beginning to back off but Kirito unexpectedly dug his feet into the ground and charged her with all of his speed. She was forced to dodge to the side with an agile leap that bought her distance, but it gave Kiriko enough time to land Pursuit on the retreating Aipom, dealing double the damage it would normally do. The Zorua had taken another chip of damage from the Rattata in the process, but it was nowhere near the amount that she had inflicted on Argo's other Pokémon.

Kirito noticed Argo swiping hastily through her menu once more while observing the Rattata charging his Zorua. _The timing on this will be tight but it should work._ {Use Sucker Punch to dodge the Rattata at the last second and attack Aipom.}

Kirito gave Argo a second to work through her menu while relaying his plan to Zorua, before charging her once more and using Sonic Leap to close the gap. He noticed her grin as she clicked a final button on her menu before dodging past his attack. He had purposefully overextended in order to draw attention away from his Pokémon and it appeared to have worked. Another 15% fell from his HP as Argo used a 3-hit claw skill on his side, but his concentration was elsewhere.

Zorua had sidestepped the Rattata with a shadowy movement and seemed to flow towards the Aipom, which had just begun the motion for its Fury Swipes, attack only to be hit in the face with an aura-coated paw. The Aipom's life-force fell below 50% and it was instantly encapsulated in a black light while shrinking to nearly a tenth of its former size. The light then shot instantaneously into Argo's arm where her menu had been earlier, and disappeared. Kirito and Argo had both stopped to watch the occurrence, having never witnessed a half-life duel in the beta where there was no severe consequence for death.

"Huh, that's kinda cool. I was wondering what would happen once one of our Pokémon got to half health. I should've expected Sucker Punch though honestly."

Argo had a look of rare surprise on her face, but it was quickly replaced with another mischievous grin.

"Oh well, now I don't have to bother with the menu anymore and I still have the health advantage. Let's see you get out of this Kii-bou."

With that, she resumed circling Kirito who had begun backing towards his Pokémon. Kirito already had a plan to finish this battle but it would rely heavily on being in sync with his Pokémon. He watched Argo approaching him cautiously in his visual background as he focused on the Rattata moving in a similar fashion towards his Zorua. _They have the exact same movements. I bet she attacks at the same time her Pokémon does._

Kirito and his Pokémon were nearly back to back at this point, a precarious position when two agile enemies were ready to charge him. If he lost track of Argo she could easily ambush his Zorua from its blind spot and knock off its remaining health above the 50% mark. His thoughts were distracted as he suddenly sensed movement in both fields of his vision simultaneously.

{Switch with a Dark Pulse attack.}

Kirito swiveled on his heel 180 degrees as Argo rushed towards him, leaving his back completely undefended. His Zorua mimicked him at the same time, turning in mid-air as it jumped with a sphere of dark light forming in its mouth. Kirito knew he would have to out-speed the Rattata for Kiriko to finish channeling her attack. Fortunately, his lunging Horizontal caught the Rattata in the neck right before it's fangs could connect with his Zorua and smashed it to the dirt. He noticed a black light beginning to form around the Rattata's body following the powerful critical hit from his Anneal Blade as he simultaneously felt the beginning of another claw attack scratching down his flank.

This strategy was a major risk, if Argo had chosen to unleash her most powerful attack then he would lose the 20% of his remaining life and lose the duel instantly. He was banking on her choosing a less powerful attack in fear of retaliation, and his intuition rewarded him. Her claws raked down his back twice more to finish the 3-hit attack, but Argo did not have time to move following her refractory period before the dark sphere of energy smashed into her side, draining nearly 45% of her HP. Kirito turned and tried to remove the remaining sliver with a slash of his sword but was too late, only catching the back of her cloak as she jumped out of the way.

Nevertheless, the advantage was now firmly Kirito's as he had the Pokémon lead and a nearly equal amount of remaining HP.

"I have to say Argo, I'm impressed. You nearly had me. I take back what I said about you not being helpful against the raid boss. Now don't take this the wrong way… but, would you go ahead and surrender? I don't like hitting girls."

The expression on Argo's face had gone from happy, to upset, and finally settled on what could only be described as sweet and sour as Kirito talked. "You just had to ruin a great battle and an apology with something like that, didn't you Kii-bou. I guess I can't be too surprised though knowing you, and the writing is on the wall. I can't attack because of Sucker Punch and I can't dodge your attacks forever. Oh well, this was a good warm-up for the boss fight. Let's heal up at the Pokécenter and find Noob-kun."

* * *

Everything about his moves was efficient. That's what came to Asuna's mind as she watched the boy in front of her fight. He had yet to take damage aside from the residual effects from blocking attacks with his sword, and he seemed adept at weaving his way through the attacks of multiple Pokémon while his Houndour attacked them from afar. When he had the chance, he would work in a 1 or 2-hit sword skill, but he seemed content to simply slash low health Pokémon without the system assist in order to finish them off without using up his own energy or his Pokémon's PP. At the moment, he had just effortlessly deflected the punching attack from the blue humanoid Pokémon near him with his sword while stepping to the side.

"Switch."

Snapping out of her thoughts, Asuna remembered what she was here for and flew towards the Machop with a Linear attack. Noticing the low amount of health the Pokémon had left following the strike, she instructed her Vulpix to use Ember to finish it off. _Machop is a fighting type so a weak fire move should easily take off the last of its HP._

After leaving the farmhouse in a rush and nearly naked the previous day, Asuna had spent most of the night reading the guide books she had been given from Argo about the basics of the game and the upcoming Raid Boss. It had helped to distract her from how embarrassing her exit had been while also proving to be somewhat interesting. Asuna had always done exceptionally well in school and was one of the top students in her class, boasting the best score in her grade for the High School Practice Placement Exams. Of course, that didn't matter anymore in this game, but it allowed her to understand what the typings meant and to memorize what types were strong and weak against fire. _I'll need to learn a lot more if I want to survive in this game, but I might as well give it my all if it might help in the first boss fight. Besides, if the other players are anything like him, then maybe we do have a chance of beating this game after all._

"Alright Fencer-san, it seems like you've got switching down now and we've already explained potion rotations and all that jazz. Looks like all there is left is to heal up and grab something to eat."

With that, Argo hopped off of the ledge where she'd been observing them battle. She'd participated earlier on, but had excused herself after a while to apparently work on strengthening her mental bond with one of her Pokémon alone. Asuna had a hard time believing the girl's excuse and was more inclined to attribute it to her mysterious job as an information broker, an odd job for a female in a male-dominated death game.

As they began to walk towards the entrance to the dungeon, they ran in to Diabel's group walking in the opposite direction. Diabel heartily greeted them and exchanged words with Kirito. At one point, his eyes caught sight of the Houndour sitting by Kirito's feet and widened in surprise. Just as quickly his face was back to neutral, but she thought she heard him mutter, "I guess that explains it," to himself as he passed by her with a nod and rejoined his group.

{It seems like Diabel figured something out about his Pokémon, I know for sure he was using a different Pokémon yesterday.}

{Yes Master, he had a Poochyena yesterday but he's using a Houndour today. There is one thing that's strange though.}

{What is it?}

{Well, they both seem to act the exact same way. Also, I can usually differentiate between different Pokémon by their aura and I can't tell the two apart. It might be nothing though or I could be imagining things.}

{No Kitsune, I've noticed the same thing, it's weird that he only uses one of them at a time when he could be using both to battle more effectively. It's kind of out of character for him. Maybe he'll use both during the boss battle?}

{We'll just have to wait and see, Pokémon usually do have similar personalities to their trainers and they are both Dark-type dog Pokémon, so it could just be a coincidence.}

The rest of the afternoon passed without incident. The unlikely trio ate and healed their Pokémon before joining the rest of the raid party. They made their way through the labyrinth as a large group, and any Pokémon unfortunate enough to come across them was taken down nearly instantly by a flurry of attacks. The party had been in high spirits as they walked through the floors of the labyrinth, but sobered down as Diabel moved to face them in front of the massive double doors that would lead to the boss room.

"I'm sure you know all of this by now, but I just want to go over it again anyways to make sure we're clear. Groups C and D will be our main tank groups taking aggro from the boss. The boss will mostly try to attack us with his axe while his Onix raises its attack and defense using Curse. Groups A, B, and E need to do as much damage as they can early on while avoiding Rock Tomb, so focus your attacks on it while it sets up and get ready to retreat at a moment's notice. The rest of the groups will focus on the adds. Everyone clear?"

The sounds of muttered assent echoed through the passage and Diabel carried on.

"When the Onix hits the red on its last health bar, it'll stop using boosting moves and will spawn one more wave of adds. It should move much more slowly though so avoid Iron Tail and get out of range if it uses AOE moves like Earthquake while we whittle it down. If something unexpected happens then I'll call for a retreat, but I don't expect to leave this battle with a single casualty. I stake my honor on it. Now then, let's take down this boss!"

With a series of shouts and whoops, the men near the front pushed open the double doors and charged inside. The raid party streamed through the doors and spread out, with the first 5 groups moving forward towards where the boss was expected to be. Asuna's group was in the back and she was one of the last people to step inside.

 _So this is what a raid is like, they're a lot more enthusiastic heading to almost certain death than I'd expect them to be. This room is massive though, now let's see, the boss should be over th-WHAT THE HELL IS THAT THING?!_

The sight of a gigantic collection of rocks with two eyes and a huge shark-like fin extending out of its head was enough to stop nearly everyone in their tracks. Three long green lines filled up above its head to indicate its health and the entire room seemed to creak as it slowly uncoiled itself, extending up to its full height. It was easily over 30 feet tall and was coming close to 40. The boulders that its body was made up of were a solid gray and looked nearly impenetrable.

 _I know Argo said the raid boss Pokémon were bigger than normal but I wasn't expecting that. I'm kind of glad I'm facing the adds instead to be honest._

Just as Asuna thought that, 3 groups of smaller Pokémon spawned near the back of the room (though calling it a room didn't do it justice) near her group and the other 2 groups. Each group of enemy Pokémon seemed to consist of a Machop, a Geodude, and a small brown Pokémon with a pink nose whose body appeared to be mostly underground. She recalled reading about it in the raid boss guide but couldn't remember its name. Either way, for now her role was to surround one of the groups of Pokémon with the other two members from her group.

"Just focus on your Pokémon and don't think about stealing the last hits on ours" growled a rough voice from behind her.

Turning around, she saw the spiky-haired man who had stood up during the meeting glare intensely at her group before jogging off to join his own. _I wonder what that was about. None of us did anything to deserve that from him._ Shaking it off, Asuna got into position, attempting to lure the Machop away from the other two Pokémon.

Rushing forward cautiously, she feinted towards the Machop with her rapier and lithely jumped to the side to avoid its counter-attack. Capitalizing on its mistake, she jabbed the tip of her rapier into the Pokémon's side 3 times in succession and stepped back. {Flamethrower.} The powerful fire attack reduced the Machop's health even further.

* * *

Kirito glanced around the battlefield once more, he was pleasantly surprised with the raid's progress thus far. His group had been the first to finish fighting their adds once again, and he was impressed with how effectively the girls in his party had been battling. While their strategy was well-suited for these fights due to the group's increased mobility with 3 fewer people, and they had good type matchups in their individual encounters, that didn't account for all of their speed. _It seems like having more members is making the other groups struggle to not get in each other's way, but even so it's hard to match Asuna nearly always critically striking the Machop's weak points and Argo's unrelenting attack on the Digletts._

Kirito was no slouch himself, having disposed of the Geodude he'd been facing first in 3 out of the 4 waves, despite its higher than average defenses. However, he hadn't been worried about the adds in the first place, what he had been more scared of was the boss itself. The rugged man with the ax was continuing to pound into their tank line without mercy but they were holding him off. With 12 tanks, they were able to continuously rotate out for potion breaks in groups of 4 and rotate back in once they had topped off their HP.

What surprised Kirito the most though was the pace at which the Onix's health had been falling. In the beta, their pace had fallen to a crawl as the Onix approached its final health bar due to the accumulated defense boosts from using Curse. While moves like Leer and Tail Whip could normally lower a Pokémon's defenses, they had a small fraction of their normal effectiveness against bosses, and had been determined to be less effective than simply going all out on the offensive before the boss could boost its own defenses too much. Kirito didn't see any of the Pokémon attacking the boss using supportive moves anyways so that couldn't have been the reason.

As he watched the raid party continue to pound away at the Onix from all sides, he noticed a chunk of rock tumble from the Onix's body. With a gasp, he realized that its entire body was covered in chips and cracks. _Could we just be so over-leveled by this point that we're doing extra damage to the boss? When we fought this thing in the beta our average level was half of what it is now._ Just as he thought that however, he watched as its tail hardened with a silver gleam and swung violently to the side.

Most of the group attacking the Onix had managed to get out of the way, but one man and the Snorunt by his side were too slow, and took the full brunt of the attack. The hard-hitting steel attack Iron Tail knocked the man down to nearly 20% of his full health and he was batted into a stone pillar, but his Pokémon was even less lucky. With its low defenses and it's unfortunate typing, the Snorunt's HP was instantly erased, and it gave a shrill cry before shattering into crystals. Kirito felt a small pain in his chest while witnessing its death. This early in the game there were no revives, and he knew that there was no way to get to a Pokécenter in time to save the Ice-type Pokémon after the battle had ended.

As he watched, two men grabbed either of the man's arms who had just been attacked and dragged him to a wall where there were 5 or 6 others with low health bars who were chugging potions. From where he was standing across the room, Kirito could make out the man complaining while visibly shaken, "Jesus, that thing hits like a truck, I thought it was supposed to be much slower by now. Wait, what happened to my Snorunt? Where'd it go?"

 _That attack certainly didn't look any slower than normal but it's clearly getting the attack boosts from Curse to deal that much damage. Could it be using something else to boost its attack stat? And why is its speed and defense staying the same? Wait that's it, I've seen Pokémon with those cracks before in the 4_ _th_ _gym's labyrinth. That has to be Onix's Hidden Ability, Weak Armor! I have to warn them._

Rushing forward across the room, he grabbed Diabel by the arm to get his attention.

"Diabel, that Onix has Weak Armor which is counteracting the defense boost and speed gain from Curse. He's gonna be much faster than anticipated while being just as strong."

Diabel narrowed his eyes slightly upon seeing who had grabbed his arm after turning around, but firmly nodded in response.

"Thank you for bringing that to my attention, we'll have to emphasize dodging its attacks even more than before but we shouldn't need to change our strategy too much. We don't need to retreat. The last wave of adds are about to spawn when it hits the red so you should get back to your group."

As Diabel turned around to order the troops, Kirito rushed back towards his own group, garnering a suspicious look from Kibaou. _He's probably pissed about the Poochyena I traded him, I can't really blame him though._ He didn't have time to contemplate any further as another wave of adds had just spawned.

{Let's finish this one quick.}

Kirito moved towards the Geodude he was intended to fight. His 'Houndour' was the only Pokémon in the party with attacks that did neutral damage to the Rock-type Pokémon so he naturally had volunteered to fight them. As he approached, the Geodude began the motions for a Rock Throw attack. Kirito made sure Kiriko was out of the line of fire before darting to the side to evade the attack and retaliating with the 2-hit sword skill Vertical Arc.

{Lead the Geodude by a few feet with Dark Pulse when the second strike hits.}

As soon as the Vertical Arc completed, the Geodude was pushed backwards and was immediately rammed with a Dark Pulse before it could regain its balance. Kirito would normally be unable to get in another attack after using a sword skill, but by catching the Geodude with a Dark Pulse immediately after his first skill had ended he was able to recover before the Pokémon. He used another 2-hit skill to finish off the last of the Geodude's HP before glancing over quickly to see that neither Asuna nor Argo were in any danger from their opponents.

From the opposite side of the room, he heard yells of excitement mixed with fear. Turning around he could see why, the Onix's HP had fallen to maybe 7 or 8% of its final health bar but another 5 men had been forced to retreat to the wall nearby to recover health. By the other corner, the boss himself appeared to have gone into a frenzy, using powerful ax skills into the tanks with renewed vigor that forced them to constantly cycle aggro between each other just to reduce the damage taken by any one person or Pokémon.

A jet of water suddenly erupted from the Squirtle's mouth beside Diabel and smashed into the Onix's head. With a loud roar, the Onix staggered back as its health fell to 5% and the boss stopped his rampage. Kirito was half worried the boss would pull out a potion and heal his Onix like in the games he'd played as a kid, but nothing of the sort happened. Instead, around the Onix's position, a giant wave of sand appeared to materialize out of nowhere into the sky and began raining down around it. Those close to it retreated with their hands held against their eyes, so as not to take damage from the chunks of rock and sand being shot around at rapid speeds.

Everyone not fighting the adds at the moment stopped to stare at the unexpected occurrence which Kirito recognized as Sandstorm. Within the storm, Kirito saw the Onix's outside begin to gleam with a sleek silver shine. _It's using the storm to take cover while it boosts its speed with Rock Polish. We need to kill it quick or it might wipe out every last one of us._

Kirito began to move forward in order to warn the rest of the party but felt an arm grab his chest to restrain him.

"Where d'ya think you're going? You'll have trouble getting the last hit without your Poochyena, won't you. Doesn't matter, I won't let a beta tester like you steal it anyways."

The voice came from a short-statured man who had a Cacnea at his side and a thick Kansai accent. Kirito managed to rip his way out of the man's grip and continued running forward, he didn't have time to waste. Fortunately, Diabel appeared to realize the gravity of the situation as well.

"We can't let it boost its stats any more than they already are. We need to act now but the storm might be dangerous. At this range Squirtle and I should be able to take it out, but I need you all to be ready to defend in case it makes it past me." With that, the blue-haired man and Pokémon began to run into the sand storm.

 _What the hell is he doing, he should have brought more people with him if he wanted to KO the Onix in the storm. Wait, he wants the last attack bonus doesn't he. That would explain why Kibaou wanted to keep me back and didn't realize my Poochyena wasn't powerful. Diabel had to have been a beta tester who knew my reputation._

Kirito had managed to nab the LA bonuses from most of the raid bosses during the beta by strategically waiting for the last hit. The bonuses were quite powerful, but they certainly weren't worth dying over. His fears were confirmed when Diabel stabbed his sword into the Onix following his Squirtle's powerful Brine attack but only brought it down to maybe 2%. Brine was an egg move for Squirtle that did double damage to Pokémon below 50% health. Diabel must have expected it to kill while not having accounted for the boosts from Sandstorm to Rock, Steel, and Ground-type Pokémon when making his decision.

The Onix's Rock Polish finished and it immediately retaliated against its two attackers with one of its most powerful moves, Stone Edge. Jagged rocks ripped up from the ground and smashed into Diabel and his Pokémon, hitting the Squirtle hard in the chin, and sending them both flying. They landed side-by-side in a heap in the corner. Kirito knew that between the sand damage and the crit there was no way that the Squirtle had survived, and Diabel himself would be lucky to.

He wasn't sure what to do, and after a moment of indecision he sprinted straight towards the Onix.

{Use Dark Pulse now!}

As he ran into the sand storm he shielded his eyes with one hand while jumping forward with a Rage Spike where he knew the Onix should be. *CLANG* His sword hit solid ground and bounced back up, knocking him unexpectedly off balance. Opening his eyelids barely and shielding above them with his hand, Kirito looked around, but the Onix had disappeared completely. _What just happened, did it really move around me that fast?_

{Master, the ground.}

Looking down he noticed a gigantic hole had opened up, easily big enough for 5-6 men to fit inside of. He ran back out of the sand storm in desperation to warn the others but he was too late. The Onix burst back out of the ground at an incredible speed causing tremors to circulate throughout the arena while sending the isolated man directly below it flying into the ceiling. The man's HP went from 70% to nothing in an instant, and he had an expression of disbelief on his face as his avatar disintegrated. Kirito dashed madly towards where the Onix had just resurfaced but it tunneled back into the ground equally as quickly.

Looking around, he could see the tank groups were still occupied with Brock but there was no sign of the Onix anywhere. Worriedly, he double-checked the ground near the wall where a good 10-12 people and their Pokémon were still healing; if Onix resurfaced there, then this raid would be an absolute disaster, more so than it already was. As he stood searching, he was surprised to see Asuna running towards him.

"Tell me what you need me to do."

Before he could respond, another crashing sound erupted from the ground as another man was knocked solidly against the wall and killed. Kirito cringed but didn't bother chasing, he knew he wouldn't make it in time.

"Wait, that's it. It's going after isolated targets. We need to get everyone to group up but that'll be impossible with Diabel injured and people dying."

At that, Asuna ran back towards the center of the room. With a fluid movement, she ripped off her hood, revealing her glossy skin that was illuminated by the torchlights. Her long hair fluttered behind her, radiating a deep shine as she ran, and with a sharp, clear voice she commanded, "Listen up everyone, group up with whoever is near you right now. That thing is targeting isolated people."

Kirito had a gut-wrenching feeling that something was about to go horribly wrong. _Should I group with the wounded players in case anything goes wrong? That would be the safest bet. But wait… isolated target._ He didn't bother completing the thought. Moving as fast as his legs would carry him, he made a mad dash towards Asuna's position, noticing a slight trembling beneath her.

"ASUNA, MOVE."

Asuna looked back at him with a confused expression before quickly realizing the severity of her situation. She started to move backwards but she had nowhere near enough momentum to evade the incoming attack. Kirito leaped forward as hard as he could, spread-eagled in the air, and tackled Asuna out of the way just in time. The Onix emerged from the ground once more and slammed right into his legs, flipping him end over end into the wall. Falling flat to the floor, he could see his HP dropping down below 30% into the red zone.

Rather than burrowing into the ground once again, the Onix began the charging tackle attack that Kirito recognized as Double Edge, aiming directly towards him. He was in no condition to move, and knew he couldn't avoid the attack in time even if he had been able to. _I guess this is the end, at least the recoil should kill it too. Actually, my health is so low that it probably won't, maybe my death was all for nothing in the end._

Fortunately for Kirito, he hadn't been the only person to rush to Asuna's aid when the Onix appeared. A large black man carrying an ax and two muscular fighting type Pokémon moved forwards briskly and braced themselves in the Onix's path. The resulting collision sent all 3 of them shooting back towards the wall and Kirito was forced to roll to his side to avoid being slammed into by Agil.

The Onix appeared to have taken a significant amount of recoil damage however and its health was at only a sliver. Sensing that it was on its last legs, it reared back for one final Double Edge, seemingly hell-bent on taking him down with it. Kirito smiled despite himself, at least now his death wouldn't be meaningless.

{Don't think like that Master. I'm not going to let you die.}

A black blur streaked towards the Onix from the side, aiming towards its face as it barreled towards Kirito. Making it barely in time, a shadowy paw batted the Onix right in it's eye mere feet from where he lay. The impact on the paw alone caused the Zorua's illusion to break and sent it slamming into the rock-hard wall. It was no use though; the Sucker Punch wouldn't have nearly enough force to stop Onix from making contact with Kirito and wiping away the rest of his HP. Kirito closed his eyes and could already feel his body being crushed mercilessly into the ground. As his HP drained to zero, his body would fragment into crystals and he would become no more than a memory to those who knew him.

Kirito felt nothing at all though, and this surprised him greatly. Opening his eyes once more, he saw that the Onix's face was stopped in mid-air mere inches from his face. A gust of air from the force of its movements followed it and blew into Kirito's hair with a powerful gust, but the Onix remained transfixed impossibly above him. Suddenly, the Onix began to shudder, and scraps of rock seemingly rusted off of its body at record speeds, beginning from its face and continuing on down its tail.

In fascination, he watched as its entire body peeled away like paper, layer upon layer of it being shaved off the body by an invisible force. Soon, almost nothing of it remained. From the opposite side of the room, a heavy ax dropped on the floor.

"Congratulations fighters, you've cleared the Rock Elemental Gym. You may now proceed to the next area."

With that, Brock walked off to the back of the room where a door had just materialized and walked through it. As he exited the room, a screen popped up in front of Kirito indicating that he had gotten the Last Attack Bonus as a giant Congratulations screen appeared in the air in the middle of the room. A loud cheer and applause reawakened his sense and he jumped to his feet. He desperately looked for Kiriko, and found her lying against the wall with barely 5% of her health remaining. Grabbing the Zorua and cuddling it against his chest, he intoned, {Get some sleep, you earned it. Thanks for saving my life. I owe you one.}

"That was some quick decision making you made there. If you and that girl hadn't been here there'd have been at least triple the casualties. This victory belongs to you."

"Hey man you were the one who saved me at the end so this victory is as much mine as it yours."

With a grin, Kirito bumped Agil's fist with his own. At that moment though, "WHY?!"

Kirito turned to the center of the room to see a furious Kibaou howling in anger.

"Why did you leave all of those people and Pokémon to die? Do their lives mean nothing to you?"

"Let them… die?" Kirito echoed back numbly.

"Don't give me that crap, you knew from the beginning what to expect from the boss, Diabel-san already found out that you were a beta tester who stole the final hit for the last attack bonus in the beta. I didn't think you'd be so despicable to hide information in order to get your way here."

There were murmurs of assent in the crowd, "He did seem like he knew what was coming."

"What's more, you even hid your own Pokémon's identity from the start, if you'd been using your full power and not playing petty tricks then two people wouldn't have died" Kibaou spat. "Actually, I've got issues with all of the beta testers here. You knew what the boss was gonna do too and you just stayed quiet. Where's the Rat? She gave us faulty information so those lives are just as much on her as they are on him."

Kirito looked around the room, Asuna was seething at Kibaou with her face red in anger, Diabel was slumped against the wall, looking down at the floor sadly, and Argo was no where to be found, but most of the room was listening to him intently. _I-I can't let this go on, if the clearing group hates each other this much then we'll all die in this game. What can I do about it though? I'm just one person. Maybe that's all that needed though._ Turning again to face Diabel, he caught the blue-haired man's eyes. Diabel gave him a pleading stare before looking back down at the ground again in shame.

"Hey, now hold on a sec…"

Kirito put his hand onto Agil's chest to quiet him as he began to laugh. It was an unnaturally high-pitched laugh that had a chilling effect, and caused Pokémon and people alike to back up while staring at him incredulously. Even Agil took a step away from him. He continued to laugh as he held out his arm and swiped open his menu.

"You'd put me together with the rest of those beta testers? Don't make me laugh. I didn't know what to expect in this gym because of the raid boss in the beta, it was because I made it to places no one else ever reached before the beta test ended."

Kirito viewed the items he had received from the boss as he talked, noticing a large number of Hard Stones, some Pokéyen, an Experience Share, and further down…

"Most of the beta players were complete video game noobs who had never even played an MMO. Half of them didn't know a thing about Pokémon either. All of you guys here today are better than those people. I'm not like them though, I've played plenty of MOBA's and I've won competitive Pokémon tournaments in the real world. I know a lot more about this world too, way more than them, more than you could ever imagine."

"Th-That's not even fair."

"Yeah, you're not a beta tester, you're just a plain old cheater."

"He's a beta tester and a cheater, no, a beater."

"A beater huh, I like that." Kirito clicked on the new item he'd just spotted in his inventory, Coat of Obsidian. A cloth as black as midnight engulfed him that he knew would give him a significant increase to his physical defense and HP. With a flourish, he rose to his feet and began walking towards the exit.

"Never confuse me with the rest of those beta testers again. I'm a beater, got that? I'm going to go and activate the next floor now, catch up to me if you can."

With one last glance at the furious Kibaou, he exited the room and began walking up the spiral staircase. His shoulders were tensed and he half expected someone to rush up the stairs and stab him in the back. The adrenaline that had carried him this far left his body as he made his way up the last of the stairs and he collapsed upon reaching the top, leaning his back against a column. _Honestly, if someone wants to stab me at this point I might as well let them. My chances of surviving as the most hated player in this death game have to be close to zero._

His Zorua was laying in his lap and snoring adorably. Kirito was glad that she hadn't been awake to hear his speech. He would have to be careful to not let his thoughts about being a beater enter their shared consciousness. From the stairs, he heard the sounds of footsteps approaching. He half-expected them to lead to his imminent death but they stopped a few steps from where he lay instead. Kirito turned his head ever-so-slightly and caught sight of Asuna.

"You really shouldn't be seen with me, you know. I'm a beater, didn't you hear?"

"Stop that, you've saved my life twice now and I can judge someone's character for myself. I didn't believe that beater speech for a second, but if you want to be alone I won't stop you. I'm here to deliver some messages anyways."

"Oh, what are they?"

"Agil-san said, 'Let's go for the next raid boss together.'"

"And the other one?"

"Well, I'm not sure what he means by this but Diabel-san told me just to tell you 'Sorry'. He looked pretty upset but I'm not sure why he was apologizing to you." Asuna paused for a second. "By the way, I think you owe me one last explanation."

Kirito racked his brain but he couldn't think of anything.

"Sorry, I'm at a loss, what is it you want to know."

"My name, how did you know it? You shouted it in the battle right before you tackled me but I never told it to you."

"Oh, that? We're in the same party so I figured you knew my name too. If you look up to the top-left of your HUD, you should see my name and Argo's just above our health bars." With his right index finger, he pointed approximately to where it should appear in her vision.

Asuna moved her head to look up and to the left in confusion, right at his finger. Kirito chuckled to himself. _She seems so smart and talented at times that I forget she's a total newbie to this game._

Placing his palm delicately on her cheek, he held it steady, his hand feeling the warmth of her soft skin.

"Now look up and to the left again, this time with just your eyes, not your head."

Asuna's eyes moved and she read his name in the corner of her vision.

"Ki…ri…to, that's your name, isn't it? Kirito."

"Yeah, that's it."

"It was there this whole time," Asuna began giggling, "I feel so stupid."

The expression on her face brought a smile to Kirito's as he watched her laugh. It had only been a few hours, but it felt like days since something had made him smile. His expression quickly changed to a blush as he realized his hand was still on her face and he hastily removed it.

"Er, uh." _What do I say? I'm drawing a total blank right now._

Fortunately, Asuna broke the silence after her giggling fit ended.

"To be honest, I also came here to thank you. You've saved my life a few times now and I think it helped me to finally realize what I have to live for in this world."

"Really? What is it?"

Asuna gave him another beaming smile.

"It's a secret for now. But just because you saved me doesn't mean I've forgiven you for what happened during my bath, Kii-bou" she said emulating Argo's voice with uncanny precision.

"I-I swear it was an accident! An honest mistake, but anyways, thanks for telling me all that. I'll probably be playing solo from now on and I have blood on my hands today," Asuna began to open her mouth respond but Kirito continued on "but it's nice to know I might have helped someone. Asuna, you could become incredibly strong in this game in a way I can't. You have the potential to lead people and there's a limit to what a solo player can do in this game. So, if someone you respect asks you to join their guild, you should do it."

Asuna still looked like she had something else she wanted to say, but instead she closed her mouth and nodded.

"Okay, if I have the chance, I will. I…well… see you later Kirito."

With that she turned around and began walking back down the stairs.

"I sure hope so," Kirito whispered to himself. As Asuna's form retreated down the stairwell, Kirito noticed a message notification ping into existence in his HUD. Opening his menu, he saw who it was from and read it.

'Thanks for what you said at the end of the boss fight, that must have been hard to do. I owe you one Kii-bou, I'll give you one free piece of information on anything, regardless of the cost.'

Kirito grinned to himself and typed back his response, careful not to disturb the sleeping Zorua in his lap.

'Then tell me the reason for your whiskers in person.'

With that, Kirito scooped his Pokémon up into his arms and began walking towards the direction of the Pokécenter in the next town.

* * *

 **This chapter took a long time to write and the next chapter might take even longer. I'll still try to write a new chapter every 2 weeks but could potentially have to take a break until August. Either way, the pace should pick up again after August.**

 **If you read Chapter 3 earlier on you might remember reading that Pulse Guns were initially one of the starter weapon types. I had originally planned on having Sinon in the first arc, but after deciding to do a GGO arc later on instead, I've decided against having Sinon (or any type of gun) in 'Aincrad'. I went ahead and changed the initial weapon types to be more in line with what was available in SAO; the change I made is near the beginning of Chapter 3 and is pretty minor overall. If you were really looking forward to guns for some reason then you'll have to wait a while unfortunately.**

 **Anyways, it's late/early so I'll proofread the chapter again when I wake up to make sure I didn't miss anything. Hope you enjoyed the chapter!**


	8. Chapter 8

"Thank you for waiting."

The red-haired woman in front of him with a nurse's outfit on gave Kirito a smile as she restored his Zorua to his party with its health replenished. While she seemed genuine enough, she looked and acted exactly the same as the nurses in the Pokémon Centers on the first floor.

"We've restored your Pokémon to full health. We hope to see you again!"

"Thank you very much Nurse Joy" he said as he briefly nodded his head.

The nurse's eyes seemed to flash for just an instant with actual gratification before she settled back into her normal routine.

"Would you like to rest your Pokémon?"

With a sigh, Kirito declined the offer and walked past a few people sitting in chairs to the exit. As the first and only person currently in this town, he knew everyone else in the Pokécenter was an NPC.

 _Why do I bother thanking Nurse Joy? I'm just costing myself valuable time every time I do and it's not like it'll affect her mood. As far as NPC's go, she's probably one of the least advanced AI's in this game. Maybe I'm just doing it out of habit or to feel normal in a world where I know most of the actual people hate me. Oh well, I better trigger the teleport gate before people start getting anxious. A lot of people have stayed in the Starting City and will want a chance to visit a new place without leaving the Safe Zone._

With that, Kirito walked towards the teleport gate. He triggered the gate after identifying a place for him to watch the proceedings undetected and ran there as quickly as he could. During the beta, the players teleporting to the new areas had always cheered for the player(s) to trigger the teleport gate as soon as they got there, and a celebration usually followed. While there still may be a celebration, he did not want to risk being identified as the beater from the boss fight. As an increasing number of people teleported into the town with expressions of awe and disbelief, a strange occurrence caught Kirito's eye.

One girl in a light-brown cloak began running as soon as she exited the teleport gate and was directly followed by two men wearing white clothes with red bandanas and black lace belts around their waists. _What's Argo gotten herself into this time?_

Kirito leaped down from his vantage point and ran after them as stealthily as he could. They soon reached the edge of the town. Outside of the town were grassy green fields with fences placed sporadically throughout the area. It actually reminded Kirito of a farm he had once visited on a school trip as a kid. This area was undoubtedly much more dangerous though. Having lost track of Argo and her pursuers, Kirito hopped up on a stone gate near the town's edge and looked around.

About 15 feet towards his right, he spotted the martial artist look-a-likes cornering Argo into a thicket of bushes with bright red berries. Without hesitation, Kirito ran and jumped from the gate, landing between Argo and the two men. Argo gave a startled yelp before realizing who it was.

"What're you two doing cornering a girl like this out of the safe zone? 2v1 hardly seems like a fair fight."

One of the martial artists gave Kirito a puzzled look as though to ask who he was but quickly regained his composure.

"We have no intention of fighting a girl with a numbers advantage, we seek only information. As you can see, we are martial artists intent on becoming fighting-type masters. For now, we are limited to using our swords, but there is a Fighting Dojo near the Saffron City Gym. Rumor has it that after training there or defeating the Gym Leader, one can get a powerful fighting type Pokémon of their choice and unlock the ability to use martial arts abilities with their body not requiring a weapon. The gym is blocked by a large boulder that requires the Rock Smash technique to pass though, and for that my trainee and I here require the Rat's help."

The man by his side then crossed his arms together and shouted "Osu!"

Bewildered, Kirito turned to face Argo who had latched on to his right arm from behind.

"For the last time, I have the information but I can't give it to you yet. I told you I'll make the information publicly available in two days."

The man in front of her stared at her icily and his lips turned into sneer.

"I would urge you to reconsider, our mission cannot be delayed and the two of you cannot hope to stand up to two of the strongest members of the Martial Artists Guild."

In a show of force, the two men suddenly took a stance while releasing their Pokémon from their Pokélinks.

"Osu!"

Kirito tensed up, ready to release his Pokémon at the sight of the Machop and Makuhita at his opponents' sides when he began to feel a rumbling sound. He slowly backed up while pushing Argo further behind him.

"Shouldn't a martial artist be more aware of their surroundings? You two sure have been making a lot of noise."

"Yeah, like we're gonna fall for that bluff" said a voice brimming with confidence. "You must be pretty weak to be resorting to such a cheap tactic."

"Uh boss, we may have an actual problem on our hands" his partner said nervously.

The rumbling sound must have finally reached his ears or he had noticed that the ground had begun to vibrate, either way, the lead martial artist finally turned around to face two Tauros rapidly gaining on him. Shrieking "Retreat!" like a little girl, the martial artists and their Pokémon began to run back towards the safe zone with the bison Pokémon close on their tail.

"Phew, well that was a close one, do you want to tell me what's going on now?"

Argo finally let go of Kirito's arm as he turned to face her and gave him an apologetic grin.

"Sorry for getting you involved in that Kii-bou, I like to keep things between me and my clients but they've been particularly aggressive."

"Why wouldn't you just tell them that you don't have the information then if you don't want to tell them?!"

"It's not that simple! I'm an information dealer, I stake my reputation on having information. If I have information but don't want to sell it then I set the price high or tell them it's unavailable, but I'd never lie. If they found out I did have the information later then it'd compromise my trustworthiness. And without trust, my whole operation is ruined."

"Wow, being an information dealer sure sounds tough, I still don't get why you do it in the first place. You're not a half-bad trainer."

Argo gave him only a knowing smirk in response.

"Whatever, anyways, as far I reckon you owe me two favors now, right?"

"Hey! I only promised you one piece of information… But to say thanks for saving me there, how about I show you where to get Rock Smash?"

"Is the secret behind your whiskers off the table then?"

"Hee-hee you really want to get to know me, don't you Kii-bou? Don't worry, I think you'll be more than satisfied with what I show you."

With those mysterious words, Argo darted forwards and began jogging away from the town.

"Hey, wait for me!"

Kirito scrambled to catch up to her.

* * *

"Have you almost found it?"

Kirito had been following behind Argo for close to an hour as they made their way through the grassy terrain up to rocky hills east of the town they had come from. The past 15 minutes or so however, had been spent watching Argo walk in circles while mumbling to herself about stupid changes from the beta test or something like that. He had finally given up and sat down to observe her progress while resting.

"How can you almost find something? You either found it or you didn't, there's no almost found something."

"Relax, I was just wondering if you were close. Are you sure you're supposed to be able to find it this early in the game? You said you found it with a hint from someone later on in the game so there may be a trigger to unlock the entrance first."

"I guess that's true but I have a hunch that you should be able to find it either way. It's just been a while since I found the entrance so I forget what it looked like… Wait, no way I found it!"

"You did?"

Kirito quickly opened his eyes and stood up to follow Argo only to find that he had lost track of where she had gone.

"Argo, where'd you go?"

"I'm right here."

Argo's head and arm popped out from what was apparently a hole in the hill.

"Are you coming or what Kii-bou?"

Kirito approached the hole, which was nearly hidden from sight due to the moss hanging over its entrance, and lifted the moss to look inside. There was a small room with space for two to three people if you crouched down a bit, and at the end of it was a small creek that appeared to run down through the hill. The area was covered with green glowing moss that illuminated the area.

"What a weird place" he murmured. "I wonder if there's anywhere like this in the real world."

"I'd bet there are places that look like this, minus the glowing moss of course, now what're you waiting for, hop in."

"Wait a second, you couldn't mean the… Waagh!"

Argo had pushed him into the fast-flowing creek with her weak STR stat before he had even realized what was happening, which was somewhat impressive. Giggling, she jumped in after Kirito and rode the creek down behind him.

"I hope you know how to swim Kii-bou, I'm no life guard."

 _She must be crazy, it's a good thing I know how to swim because I don't have a water Pokémon to save me yet if the water gets too deep. Was she seriously just going to let me drown if I couldn't swim? I know it's dangerous to rescue someone from drowning IRL but that's because people panic at the sensation of drowning which doesn't happen in the water here since we don't need to breathe. You just see a sensor telling you how long until you die if you remain underwater._

Fortunately, Kirito's fears turned out to be unimportant as the creek finally flowed down and ended in a relatively shallow pool of water with plenty of room to stand in. Kirito got out of the pool of water and quickly opened his inventory to remove his black coat. While clothing would dry quickly in this game, wearing a soggy coat still made him feel uncomfortable.

"A little warning before we go on a water slide would be appreciated next time."

Argo grinned back at him before walking up to a trail leading to a small cottage. Surrounding the cottage were a large amount of familiar-looking large rocks that Kirito remembered seeing in a few odd places in the beta, mostly in caves. Walking through the open door, they found an elderly man sitting atop a table meditating. He wore black shorts and a cut off shirt and his muscles were clearly evident despite his age.

"Hiya, we're here for the Rock Smashing clinic."

"Argo, he's not gonna understand it if you say it like that…"

Kirito fell silent as the man atop the table opened his eyes and surveyed the two of them.

"Ah, I see I finally have new disciples. It's been many moons since I last had a student. So you wish to learn the Rock Smash technique for yourself and your Pokémon?"

"Yes, please take us under your wing, Senpai."

Kirito gave another sour look at Argo who was talking to the man as if he was another player but remained silent. The man looked both of them in the eye before continuing.

"I understand, this move is not learned easily and may take a few days to learn. Are you sure you want to continue?"

 _A few days? Maybe we should wait to do this until we've gotten a few badges, I'd rather get some more training in._

"I accept." Turning to Kirito, she added quietly, "We can always come back if we want to finish it later."

"Fair enough, I'll accept too then."

Upon hearing their voices of agreement, the man nimbly jumped off the table and grabbed a bowl and a brush from the small table besides Kirito. Before he could react, the man dipped the brush in the bowl and drew 3 lines on each side of Kirito's face with superhuman speed and precision, before proceeding to do the same to Argo.

"You are now officially my students; the paint will be removed at the end of your training. Come see me when you've broken one of the rocks."

Kirito opened the door and rushed outside to the water. Looking down, he saw reflected back to him his face with whiskers almost exactly like Argo's. _Well I guess that explains the secret behind Argo's whiskers, now let's wipe them off. I look ridiculous like this._

Kirito splashed water onto his face and scrubbed vigorously. "It's no use Kii-bou, nothing can get rid of the stripes until you finish the quest. Turn around real fast… Hahaha, you look just like a cartoon cat from a show I used to watch!"

Kirito's face paled upon realizing the stripes hadn't come off.

"So I could be stuck here for days? It's no fair, you're fine with having the stripes so you can just leave now while I have to finish."

"Oh Kii-bou you're such a drama queen. I'm sure the rest of the clearers would forget all about you being a Beater when you look like that! Don't get all worked up, I'm staying here to finish it with you. It takes two days to finish and it'll be helpful to find new items and pathways later on. I've already told my other clients I'll be unable to publish a new guidebook for a few days anyways."

With that, she opened her Pokélink and released her Rattata and Aipom to run around. Kirito figured he'd give his Pokémon a chance to stretch as well and released his Zorua, ignoring the snickers coming from her when she saw his face.

"The one thing I don't get is why you couldn't tell those martial-artists where this was."

"This place isn't an instance, anyone can find it if they know where to look at the same time that other people are here. Would you really want to spend two days learning Rock Smash with the entire Martial Artists Guild?"

Kirito gulped as he imagined it.

"Nope, I see where you were coming from now. Let's get to it."

With that, Kirito squared up in front of a rock and punched it with his right fist as hard as he could. "Ouch" he said while shaking his hand back and forth. His punch hadn't even put a dent in it.

* * *

Asuna hopped onto the green, spider-shaped kart and waited for it to take her across the cord to where the gym leader resided. The different-colored cords resembled a spider web and each kart would take you to different landing places where you would have to fight a trainer to move on. Having beaten the rest of the bug type trainers easily with the help of Kitsune, it was now time for her to take on Bugsy and get her first gym badge.

 _Okay so the guidebook said he would have 3 Pokémon and the one I have to look out for is Scyther. Bugsy uses a katana but shouldn't fight if I have two or less Pokémon in my party, so it'll be me and Kitsune vs. 3 other Pokémon. I can do this._

Asuna wasn't sure why she was nervous about this boss fight when she had resolved to die fighting earlier on. It might have been because she had started to believe they could beat this game or because she had something to fight for now. Either way, she tended to go over all available information as a way of calming herself when she was nervous, a practice that had helped her become a top student at her school. Having shaken off her nerves, Asuna stepped off the kart to challenge the Azalea gym leader.

The young boy in front of her with odd purple hair and green 'safari' clothes looked like he couldn't be older than 12. In his right hand, stabbed into the floor, was a katana longer than his entire body. Asuna wasn't sure how he would be able to lift the weapon, much less fight with it, but she was wary nonetheless.

"I'm Bugsy! I never lose when it comes to Bug-type Pokémon. My research is going to make me an authority on Bug-types! Let me demonstrate what I've learned from my studies. It looks like you don't have many Pokémon so I'll let my Pokémon do the talking; I prefer directing my bugs in battle more than fighting, but don't underestimate me! Are you ready to battle?"

Asuna gave a sigh of relief inwardly but on the outside her face gleamed with determination. "I'm ready, let's battle!"

With that, 3 lights shot out of his Pokélink and released what Asuna recognized as a Kakuna, a Metapod, and the Scyther she had never seen before that had been mentioned in the guide. _So far so good, if he doesn't have any tricks up his sleeve I should win this._

{Let's get to work, Kitsune, target the Scyther with your Flamethrower attack.}

The Vulpix standing beside her rushed forwards and shot a pillar of flames towards the Scyther. The Scyther managed to dodge out of the way just in the nick of time, but Vulpix wasn't quite as lucky. Right after releasing the flames from her mouth, she had been met with a poisonous barb from one side and a sticky string from the other. Asuna immediately realized that Kitsune's speed had been lowered by the String Shot. Her worst fears were confirmed after that however, when Kitsune's body momentarily turned a venomous purple before going back to normal and the Poison debuff flashed by her icon.

{That was a bad plan, my mistake, target the Kakuna with another flamethrower while I heal you.}

Asuna opened her menu as quickly as possible and scrolled to the items section searching for an antidote. From the corner of her eye, she saw Kitsune get hit with another string shot but not before connecting with Flamethrower onto the Kakuna, knocking it out with one attack. _Phew, if that didn't kill it I'd have been in big trouble. Thankfully Kitsune is overleveled since she's the only Pokémon I've been using. I should have been going after the immobile Pokémon from the start before focusing on Scyther but I should be able to recover._

Having healed her Pokémon of its poison, Asuna next commanded her Pokémon to attack the Metapod. She hadn't seen the Scyther's move but it was likely that it had used Focus Energy in order to increase its critical strike rate according to what she had read in the guidebook. The Scyther should be using one more turn for setup to use Leer on her and her Pokémon before attacking, so she needed to eliminate the Metapod on this turn.

{Ignore the Scyther, use Ember on the Metapod and I'll follow it up with an attack. Save your Flamethrower PP.}

{But master-}

{We'll lose the advantage if we don't act now, use it.}

The Scyther was already in the middle of executing its Leer attack when the burst of flames shot through the String Shot heading towards Vulpix and hit the Metapod. Directly after the flames had hit, Asuna's rapier shot towards where the Metapod's abdomen should be and pierced it, reducing its remaining life force to 0.

{Master! Quick.}

Asuna turned around as rapidly as she could to see the Scyther already streaking towards her Kitsune at a tremendous speed. The attack reached her Pokémon before she could react, and she could only watch her Pokémon's health plummet to 60% from a critical hit from Quick Attack.

Asuna rushed back towards her Pokémon but the Scyther already appeared to be preparing another attack.

{You can't dodge in time but try to tag it with Ember.}

As the Scyther streaked towards Vulpix, it produced bright red flames, but rather than shooting them towards the Scyther, she shot them in a short radius in front of herself. The Scyther dodged left and right rapidly before slamming into Kitsune once again but was unable to avoid the flames as both of their health bars fell by close to 40%.

{Good job Kitsune, I don't have time to heal you so I'll take it from here. Try not to get hit alright.}

Asuna stood in front of her Pokémon and stared the Scyther down from behind her rapier. She noticed Bugsy still watching the battle from his seat at the end of the room but he made no attempts to pick up his katana and fight.

 _If he were to decide to fight I would be dead without a doubt. What I need to worry about right now is protecting Kitsune though, there's a Pokémon Center in town but I don't know if I'll make it in time after the battle_.

Before Asuna could finish her train of thought, the Scyther sharpened its sharp scythes it had in place of arms by slashing them against each other and began rushing towards Asuna with vigor. Asuna recognized the pattern as the move Fury Strikes and matched it with a 4-hit sword skill of her own, Quadruple Pain. Each of her hits glanced off an attack from the Scyther and parried it but the Scyther kept rushing forwards, finally managing to strike her in the shoulder with the 5th hit and lowering her health by 20%.

 _How unlucky, the chance of a 5-hit Fury Strikes is low. I should be prepared if that happens again though, I can't draw out this battle._

Glancing towards her Vulpix, she relayed an order to it before getting in position once more. With that, the Scyther advanced towards her using Fury Strikes once again and Asuna met it with another 4-hit sword skill. Fortunately, the Scyther was only able to use 4 consecutive hits this time as her rapier's final movement met the scythe and held firm against it, locking them in place.

{Now, do it!}

Kitsune had been slowed too much by the Metapod to contribute much in this fight against Scyther, but her attack would be able to land while they were locked together like this. Bursting forth from the Vulpix came a ring of fire that surrounded both Asuna and the Scyther, dealing moderate damage to both of them and contributing extra damage over time as long as they were in the ring. This all but assured Asuna's victory as she had nearly twice the health of the Pokémon opposing her, or so she thought.

 _What..what is this? Is this some sort of held item that wasn't in the beta? It just got back a fourth of its health._ Indeed, the Scyther's health had shot up from eating its held item. The Sitrus berry restores 25% of its targets health and procs when the Pokémon's health reaches less than half. Asuna didn't know all this yet, but what she did know was that it may have turned the tides of the battle.

Her health bar was at nearly the same level as the Scyther's, and the Scyther had increased critical strike chance compared to her lowered defense stat due to Leer. Before Asuna could create a strategy, the Scyther lunged towards her with the bug-type move Fury Cutter. Without thinking, Asuna stabbed forward with an Oblique of her own directly towards the Scyther's face.

Both attacks found their marks as Asuna critically damaged the Scyther with her attack while it lowered her health by close to 20% as well. The fire damage ticked again, lowering their HP to around 30% each. With a start, Asuna realized she was one attack away from dying. _Fury Cutter deals twice as much damage after the first hit, if another one of those lands I'll die. Not just here but in the real world. I'll never see my brother again, or my mom or dad, or that boy I met earlier. I wonder if he'll miss me._

{Master, pull it together, you've been in worse situations than this.}

Glancing back towards her Pokémon, Asuna snapped out of the downwards spiral her mental state had been in.

{Thank you for that. Kitsune, it's too dangerous for you to use any other attack, so fill this ring with a smokescreen attack!}

Smoke billowed out of her Vulpix's mouth and surrounded Asuna and the Scyther entirely. With no way to see her opponent, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath before focusing entirely on her surroundings. A single mistake here would cost Asuna her life but she felt no fear. The smoke continued to envelope her but her ears were attentive. From the left she faintly heard the sound of the Scyther approaching just in time to react.

Dodging out of the way at the last second as she had countless times in Mount Moon, Asuna avoided the Fury Cutter and immediately followed the Scyther's motion with a Linear of her own. Rushing forward, she stabbed her rapier directly into the back of the Scyther's head, lowering its HP to a sliver.

Asuna's eyes widened as the Scyther turned around to face her and shot its scythe directly towards her face. Before she even had time to process what had happened though, the Scyther's arm stopped mere centimeters from her eye and dissolved into particles. _What just happened?_

Clapping came from the end of the room.

"Wow, that was an incredible fight! Relying on the smokescreen to land a hit on Scyther and letting its health run out from the fire spin damage was a brilliant strategy. I may be an expert on bug-type Pokémon but my research isn't complete yet. Ok you win. Take this Hive Badge."

Bugsy walked over and handed the stunned Asuna a red badge that resembled a ladybug.

"Since this is your first gym badge it'll increase the attack of all of your Pokémon. Also, take this TM and item. The Silverpowder will increase the damage of a Pokémon's bug-type attacks and Fury Cutter is a move that gains more power every time you land it successfully in battle. The longer the battle goes, the better it gets. Isn't that great?"

With that, Bugsy walked back to his chair and sat down, ready for the next challenger. Still somewhat shaken, Asuna hugged Kitsune close to her and climbed onto one of the spider karts in order to exit the gym and to go heal. That had been a far closer affair than she had intended for it to be, but the result was worth it. _I need to add more Pokémon to my team, me and Kitsune alone can't hold out forever. That should have been one of the easier gym leaders for me too._

* * *

With one final punch, Kirito finally managed to break the rock he had been punching for nearly 2 days straight aside from time spent sleeping and resting. He had been beginning to think about just giving in and going out in public with the cartoonish whiskers but had stayed at Argo's insistence that it wouldn't take much longer. Laying down in exhaustion to his side was Argo, who had managed to break hers as well moments ago. Her Rattata pulled at her hood with its teeth but yelped and jumped up after her Aipom pulled its tail in response.

"Ugh fine I'll get up."

Kirito looked around for his own Pokémon and found her sitting atop one of the rocks watching him.

{Good job Master, now we can finally get back to training.}

{Yeah, although I'm just happy I'll finally get this ridiculous paint off my face, Argo's teased me enough about it already.}

Once Argo had gotten up, the party walked into the house to confront the old man.

"Ah I see you have completed your training, you and your Pokémon will now be able to use Rock Smash outside of battle and are eligible to learn the martial arts skill."

With those short words, the master grabbed a normal towel from beside him on the table and wiped the marks off of both of their faces.

"So… water and vigorous scrubbing can't remove these marks but one wipe from a normal towel can? I guess that's game logic for you. Hey Argo, why are you turned away from me?"

"Don… don't look Kii-bou."

"Oh, I guess I've never seen you without the whiskers, but it only seems fair for me to see after you got to witness my Kiriemon cosplay."

"But it's embarrassing."

Suddenly realizing what he was asking her to do, Kirito's eyes widened.

"Errr, yeah, you're right. Sorry for asking, let's get going."

As he turned and began to walk towards the door, a hand shot out and grabbed his arm. Turning around, he looked Argo in the eye. Looking back at him was a girl with short dirty-blonde hair and emerald green eyes. She looked to be a bit older than he was and looked surprisingly cute without the whiskers, as though having lost her information broker persona. She began to blush and Kirito realized he had been looking her directly in the face for longer than what was socially acceptable by any standards. He pulled his eyes away from her right as she exclaimed:

"Wha-What're you staring at Kirito? Sheesh, take a picture it'll last longer."

With that, her normal grin came back on to her face and Argo let go of his arm and walked out of the door.

"Give me a minute to reapply my whiskers, it's not nice to watch a girl do her makeup you know Kii-bou.

"Oh yeah, of course. Take your time."

As the door closed, Kirito gave a sigh of exasperation. _I have almost no experience with girls in the real world and yet here I am travelling with one. How am I supposed to know what to do in these situations? This is part of why I planned on being a solo player in the first place._

 _Anyways, I need to get a gym badge before the next raid boss so I should probably head to Aspertia. There are no ghost or psychic-type gyms near the first few areas and I have experience fighting against two normal-types at once from Argo. Speaking of Argo, shouldn't she be done with her makeup by now?_

Walking outside, Kirito found… no one. Argo had disappeared without a trace.

"Argo! Argo, can you hear me?"

Getting no response, he checked his Pokélink which had just pinged the sound for a new message. It was from Argo.

'Business calls, gotta go. If you want to get out you can try going up the water slide but you'll have an easier time finding the secret exit to the North. If you can't find it I'll be more than happy to sell you the information on it, I'll give you a friendly discount of course. Catch ya later Kii-bou.'

 _I probably should have expected that… I've spent enough time here already, might as well pay up._

* * *

 **This chapter followed more of the Progressive storyline and had the first normal gym battle through the eyes of Asuna. Anyways, I meant to mention this earlier but this fic was heavily inspired by Soul Ablaze which is another Pokémon/SAO fic. I'd definitely recommend reading it, the writing is really good, although I don't know if it'll ever be finished since it hasn't updated in over 2 years. If you're looking for other good SAO fics and haven't read them already, then I would highly recommend all of the SAO fics in my favorites. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter, feel free to leave a review or PM me if you want to ask anything about it.**


	9. Chapter 9

Kirito was progressing through the woods in the search of a 'strange house'. That had been how the NPC described the house to him before he started the quest at least. It wasn't a very illustrative description by any means and Kirito had planned to ask for more information. He had been distracted though by the girl's creepy smile that accentuated her pale face, and by her dark black irises that seemed to fill up her entire eyes. Nevertheless, upon realizing he needed more information, he had tried to go back and find her but to no avail. Despite the unusual circumstances surrounding the quest, the reward of Black Glasses would boost the dark type attacks of his Zorua, and the house itself was home to a variety of ghost and psychic type Pokémon that he could farm for experience.

His first course of action had been to message Argo of course, but upon asking for information about the quest, she had sent him the location of the house and nothing more. What further increased his unease was her refusal to accept payment for this information and a helpful tip that Black Glasses could also be acquired through a different quest. The other quest turned out to be in an area he hadn't visited far from his current location, and it had numerous bug type Pokémon which his Zorua was at a type disadvantage against. Despite the lack of information he had about the quest, he felt obligated to complete it so as to stay ahead of the curve. He had managed to obtain the Basic Badge without much trouble but spending two days hitting a rock had done nothing for his leveling. Being overleveled was essential for a solo player like him if he wanted to maintain a margin of safety when fighting mobs.

As Kirito continued to walk along the path, he felt as though something was watching him. Logic told him that he shouldn't be able to sense being watched in the game even if it was the case, but he trusted his instincts. Turning around, Kirito began to search for the source of the sensation in the surrounding trees using his search skill.

{Master, to your right in the bush.} Looking towards where Kiriko had instructed him to, Kirito could faintly make out the outline of a small Pokémon behind the bush intently staring at him. As his vision adjusted, he noticed that the small black Pokémon with a white stripe on its belly appeared to have a white bow and two similar white bow-shaped objects where one would normally have ears. Its face was a light purple with aquamarine eyes and a cute little red mouth that seemed to stick out more than normal. On its head was a black, ribbonlike feeler that bobbed up and down at random. _Hmm, I'm not too familiar with that Pokémon. I know it's called Gothita and it's a psychic type, but I think the only reason to use its evolved form is for its ability Shadow Tag which isn't all that useful in POW. More importantly though, should I attack it? This could be a good opportunity to get some XP but it doesn't seem like its hostile._

As though reading his thoughts, which she probably had, Kiriko advised him: {That Pokémon is showing strange behavior for a wild Pokémon but it seems to mean no harm. There will be plenty of hostile Pokémon in the strange house, perhaps we should leave it be?}

{You're right, most wild Pokémon are indifferent to you unless you get their attention and take aggro. It seems weird that this one would be following me, but my gut is telling me its harmless.}

Having come to a decision, Kirito turned back to the path and continued walking, aware that his movements continued to be followed by the mysterious Pokémon from the muffled sound of tiny footsteps coming from his rear. Whenever he turned to check on it he noticed that the Pokémon's eyes were always trained right on him, even when the Pokémon walked straight into a thicket that it apparently had not noticed due to its intense concentration. The shrubbery had certainly become much denser as Kirito progressed into the woods, and the wind began to shake the dead limbs of the surrounding trees which cast tall shadows along the path.

Finally, Kirito reached his destination. The house was the size of a mansion but had clearly been neglected for years, or was programmed to look that way rather. A light grey haze seemed to envelop the property and a single stone gargoyle with a chipped nose stood on one side of the door. The shattered windows and ivy growing up the building added to the building's dilapidated state. The lawn was overgrown and the rustling of grass and a slithering sound accompanied a brief glimpse of purple scales, likely belonging to an Ekans.

Steadying his nerves, Kirito walked up the small set of stairs leading to the door and braced himself to enter. He reached his hand towards the handle but grasped only air as the door opened on its own with a loud screeching sound. Kiriko, currently taking the form of a Poochyena once more, instantly jumped backwards and huddled behind his ankle.

{Master, on second thought let us take the quest Argo recommended for us instead. It would be wise to not accept any quests we know nothing about such as this one.}

{You don't deserve to take the form of a dog if you're going to be such a scaredy cat!}

Despite teasing his Pokémon, Kirito was rather startled as well. He still continued forwards into the house nonetheless. Inside, there was a large, gloomy chandelier in the center of the room that dimly illuminated the surroundings. There were 3 doors on the first floor and a set of stairs leading to a large fourth door with a rusted lock on a chain keeping it closed. Not having any hints as to where he should go to find the key, Kirito walked to the door nearest him and grabbed the handle. His hand made contact this time and he opened the door and walked inside.

 _From the look of it, I need to find a key somewhere. I guess I'll just check every room I find until I can find it. My Pokémon should be overle-_

*KRACCCK* Kirito didn't have a chance to finish his thought as the splintered wood beneath his feet gave way and he fell onto a tilted mattress. The mattress bounced him off at an angle back into the air and he found himself flailing as he dived headfirst towards what appeared to be a Swalot. The Pokémon opened its mouth enormously wide in what seemed to be an attempt to swallow him whole, but Kirito regained his wits in time. Quickly arming himself with his sword, Kirito slashed out at the side of the Swalot's head, being careful not to follow through with the motion. Before completing the sword skill, he grasped the sword with his other hand and pushed the sword against the Swalot with all of his STR stat. The result was that he pushed the Swalot slightly to the side while changing the course of his momentum, allowing him to barely avoid the gaping mouth in front of him. As he crashed into the wall, his Zorua shot a Dark Pulse towards the opposing Pokémon and followed it up using the speed from her fall to land a powerful Pursuit attack. The combination was enough to finish off the rest of the Swalot's HP and it burst into experience points and nothingness.

{Well… that was certainly unexpected, I get the feeling this house is trying to kill me. Good job Kiriko.}

Dusting himself off as he got up off the ground, Kirito inspected his surroundings. The room had a ghoulish atmosphere and the air gave off a slight chill. On a desk in the corner, Kirito found an Antidote and added it to his inventory. There appeared to be only one path out of the room and there was no way to get back up to the first floor. Taking the only course of action available to him, Kirito began walking down the narrow, dimly lit path without noticing the soft thud of something else descending into the basement behind him. The hallway of sorts was coated in a torn up, magenta-red carpet, and a number of vents and black metal torches lined the walls. The air conditioning seemed unnatural in a torch-lit corridor as it mixed with the crackling sound of fire to produce an odd sound.

As they walked along, Kirito ran into a Solosis and Litwick, who he and Zorua promptly took care, of and found a few items in a small room but nothing of note. He was still on guard for another trap door of sorts and his extra-attentiveness led to him hearing the sound of voices coming from one of the vents. He couldn't make out what the muffled voices were saying at first, but he began to hear them more clearly as he continued to walk while keeping his ear close to the wall.

"Well well, whatever will we have to do with you?"

"Intruding on our secret hideout isn't very nice, you know. Did you bring along any friends to ambush us?"

"No, no, I didn't, I swear! I didn't know this was someone's hideout, I promise. I was just here to look for an item."

"Oh so you're all alone, how very interesting."

"Heh, how interesting indeed, it won't be any good if we let you out of here and you tell people our little secret."

Kirito began to quicken his pace as he heard the sound of multiple Pokémon being released from their owner's Pokélinks. _What the hell are these guys talking about? This is a PVE death game, why would you possibly need a secret base in this rundown house?_

"Look, I swear on my life I won't tell anyone about this place, I'll give you all the Pokéyen I have. Please, just let me go. Otherwise I won't go down without a fight."

The sound of two more Pokémon being released was registered by Kirito as he broke into a run.

"Shh, do you hear something? This guy might have brought friends after all. There was that crashing sound earlier…"

"Don't be such a coward Xaxa, there are strange sounds in this place all the time, it is a haunted house after all. More importantly, do my eyes deceive me or is that a shiny Charmander! This must be your lucky day kid. Give us that Charmeleon and we'll let you go scot free."

"There's no way I could give him to you, are you nuts? I'll die just trying to get out of this house without my highest leveled Pokémon, you've gotta be joking."

"Oh you don't have to worry about that! I'll trade you a high leveled Pokémon so that you can keep progressing through the game, you don't have to worry about a thing. Heheh, so do we have a deal? Is your life really more important than what virtual Pokémon you use?"

There was a brief moment of silence as the player hesitated, unsure of what to believe. At the same time, Kirito saw a room up ahead of him and broke into a sprint. He had to reach the room in time to save that player.

"But Johnny, if we kill him and catch it after he's dead instead, then we won't have to give away one of our Pokémon. Besides, letting him go isn't any fun."

"Xaxa you idiot, we could've just killed him after getting the Charmeleon without risking it dying. Oh well, it's more fun this way anyways."

A screeching sound of a dagger being dragged across a wall sent chills down Kirito's spine as he dashed into the room. Panting heavily, he quickly searched his surroundings for a door. He heard the clash of a sword on a sword and a shriek of terror followed by deranged laughter. Frantically pacing around the room, Kirito was forced to come to the realization that this door had led to a dead end. _No, think, think! This can't be a dead end if there's no other way out of this hallway. There has to be a trick to this room, what could it be though?_

The whooshing sound of the air conditioner turning on preceded a cold gush of air that flowed over his body, blowing out one of the torches in the process.

{Master! That must be it.}

Catching on a moment after his Pokémon did, Kirito ran towards the wall and pulled down on the metal torch. No sooner had he pulled the torch than the wall opened outwards as though it was a door on a hinge. He took a deep breath and yelled as loudly as he could as he charged through the opening while pulling out his sword.

Facing him with mirrored expressions of surprise were a cloaked man with gleaming red eyes that looked deathly unnatural and a boy around his age with a golden yellow Charmeleon at his feet that was locked in combat with a Croagunk. Taking in the situation quickly, he also noticed a Poochyena doing its best to face off against a Stunky and a Scraggy at the same time, but there was someone missing from the picture. It happened in an instant, a sickening squelching sound came from the boy's chest and the boy looked down to see red particles flickering and falling to the ground from where the front of the sword had exited his body. A final pained whimper escaped from the boy's throat before his avatar exploded into hundreds of tiny shards of light.

Faced with this devastating scene, a rush of emotions swirled through Kirito's mind. Fear, grief, confusion, and a flurry of other emotions filled his brain at that moment, yet the one emotion that flooded his mind and took priority above all of the others was pure, unbridled rage. The logical course of action with the boy dead was to not risk his own life in a fight where he was outnumbered, but to escape and save himself. The door at the opposite end of the room was open, and in the chaos, there would be no one to stop him from reaching it in time. The thought of actually doing this never crossed his mind, in fact, the idea was never conceived of by Kirito in the first place.

Rushing in while the element of surprise was still momentarily on his side, he landed a glancing blow on the opponent with red eyes, earning him a snarl of disgust. The look of disdain instantly changed into an expression of fear as Kiriko's Pursuit attack dealt him extra damage due to his retreat, knocking his health below 40%. The Croagunk attempted to land a counterattack but the Charmeleon stood threateningly in its path and prevented it from moving forwards.

"And who might you be?" spoke the other assailant who had a black mask resembling a sack covering his features. "Rushing into a battle outnumbered is borderline suicidal, and all to save a Pokémon? You must have a death wish."

Kirito tried to ignore the truth behind his opponent's words, but the gravity of the situation hit him nonetheless and his knees weakened and slightly trembled. Sensing his trepidation, the two murderers crept towards opposite sides of the room in an attempt to surround Kirito. _It might be pointless, but I can't just watch someone be killed in cold blood without doing something about it if I can._ Hardening his resolve, Kirito dashed towards the red eyed attacker he had injured previously in an attempt to cut off one side of the pincer movement.

His opponent was wary of him though and eluded him with swift movements, zigging and zagging back to the corner of the room. The man's partner was gaining on Kirito and seemed poised to strike; furthermore, 3 enemy Pokémon were ready to charge at Kirito if he made a mistake. Changing his course immediately, he leapt back the way he came to engage the masked enemy and their swords collided.

Seeing that the Scraggy was heading his way through Kiriko's vision, he commanded her to intercept it with a Tackle attack. The Scraggy had clearly been weakened in the earlier fight, as the weak, Normal-type attack drained the remainder of its life points and it fainted. The unexpected sound of another Pokémon bursting into shards broke Kirito's concentration momentarily, and he quickly glanced over to see the Croagunk's fist extended into the area previously occupied by a Poochyena. The enemy swordsmen wasted no time in engaging Kirito while he was distracted and he was forced to block attack after attack from both sides.

Despite his level advantage, being unable to land a hit put Kirito at a major disadvantage and his health was being chipped away quickly. A dagger entering his hip was followed by a boot to the chest that knocked him towards the open wall he had entered from. Kiriko was nearby and engaged in a tight battle with the Croagunk while further away the Charmeleon and Skunky were engaged in a tussle on the ground. He skidded across the floor and braced himself for the damage he would take upon hitting the wall, but he felt the soft sensation of fur instead.

A small black and white, humanoid Pokémon looked at him inquisitively and touched the feeler atop its head onto Kirito's own head. {Pain, fear, anger, sadness. These emotions… why you are fighting… I understand now.}

Looking up towards the other trainers who were momentarily stunned by the sudden arrival of a mob, the Gothita began the movements for an attack. Acting instinctively, the red-eyed boy shouted: "Croagunk, Sucker Punch".

Kirito tried to warn the Gothita but it was too late to stop the attack. From the Pokémon's outstretched limbs emanated a screen of light that rinsed over Kirito's party, bolstering their Special Dense stat. {Will protect… aggression towards me… cannot tolerate.}

The Croagunk's Sucker Punch had stopped just short of the Gothita harmlessly and it was unable to land its attack. In the delay that followed, a rotating beam of pink light shot forth from the Gothita and corkscrewed towards the Croagunk, hitting it directly in the face. The doubly super effective attack crit the Croagunk and sapped the remaining health from it, causing it to faint to the floor.

"Hey Johnny, this is bad, we're outnumbered by 2 Pokémon and I'm low on health. Also, I'm starting to think this might be the black beater that the boss warned us about."

"Yeah shit, we better leave. We can steal more Pokémon later. Hey Blackie, next time I'll definitely kill you, you hear?"

"He'll pay for setting us back, I'll murder his Pokémon in front of him and then take my time to savor his every scream as I stab him to death."

With those menacing words, the two boys and their Skunky dashed towards the door, exiting the room before Kirito could even get back onto his feet. _Who the hell were those guys and the boss they were mentioning? It seems like there could be a Pokémon stealing-group made up of players. They're like some sort of Team Rocket rip-off; they must be after money and powerful Pokémon to become the game's leading players, but that seems counterproductive to beating the game. Do they not get that they're making it harder for us all to get out of here?_

{Master, I appreciate that you're deep in thought but is there not something else you need to do?}

{Oh, you're right, thanks Kiriko.}

"Ahem" Kirito cleared his throat, "I haven't talked to wild Pokémon out loud before, so I'm not sure if you can understand me, but thank you for saving my life. I'm sorry I couldn't get here sooner to save your trainer's life Charmeleon. Believe me when I say I tried my best. I can't bring myself to catch two Pokémon who just helped me out but you're free to join my team if you want to. I'll be sure to treat you well and give you lots of snacks."

The Gothita approached Kirito and touched her feeler to his knee, whereas the Charmeleon stomped the ground and sneered at him.

{I think I would like to join your party, you seem to truly care about people and Pokémon alike. However, it appears that the Charmeleon would like to battle you. It says it doesn't wish to have a weak trainer and to man up and catch it fair and square.}

Kirito grinned despite himself, who knew the Pokémon in this game would have such different personalities. Looking towards the Charmeleon, he determined that it had about 60% of its health remaining, roughly the same amount as he had. "Charmeleon, I accept your challenge. I'll fight you one on one, so stay back Kiriko." His Zorua, who still resembled a Poochyena as her disguise had not been broken, cautiously assented and backed off to the wall where she sat next to the Gothita.

Kirito drew his sword and dashed forward immediately. Charmeleon had the advantage in range so he needed to get in close before it could zone him out with long-distance fire attacks. The Charmeleon shot an Ember at him which he swiftly dodged before swinging his sword at its chest. The Charmeleon countered with a Slash attack of its own, knocking his sword back and lunging forward with a second Slash aimed at his own chest. Kirito recovered in time though and deftly parried the incoming blow before using the two-hit sword skill Horizontal Arc to put the Pokémon off balance. The Charmander attempted to scramble away from him, shooting off a Smokescreen to block his vision and escape.

Kirito expertly activated his search skill though and was able to barely follow the Charmander's movements. Rushing through the dark smoke, his clothes acted as a form of camouflage but there was no way to muffle the sound of his footsteps. Sensing his presence, the Charmeleon turned and unleashed a savage Flamethrower attack right at Kirito, with enough power to possibly kill him if it were to be a critical hit. Kirito was a step ahead of it though and had predicted the attack. Timing his own attack for the second the Charmeleon turned around and became vulnerable, he dodged to the side before leaping forward with a Vertical Arc aimed directly at the Charmeleon's head. The attack would undoubtedly prove fatal if it were to land; fortunately, Kirito controlled his swing and stopped his sword skill mere centimeters from the Charmeleon's neck. The Charmeleon stared down at the sword in disbelief and then slowly nodded its head once. Opening his inventory swiftly, Kirito selected a Pokéball and tossed it towards the Charmeleon. A few minutes later, he was the proud owner of a shiny Charmeleon and a Gothita, the newest members of his team.

Kirito never did find the key to the room upstairs and was unable to complete the quest, much to the disappointment of his Zorua. However, upon returning to town, the creepy girl from before thanked him for trying his best and rewarded him with the Black Glasses before simply walking through the wall and disappearing as though she were a ghost. When asked about the quest later by Argo, Kirito's only reply was that it was better to attain the Black Glasses through the other quest. He knew better than to let her investigate a group of Pokémon thieves with no qualms about killing, and he doubted they would ever use that hideout again anyways.

* * *

Asuna dashed in with a Linear, knocking the Beedrill right into an expertly placed Ember attack from her Vulpix which reduced its life points to zero. The duo of Asuna and Kitsune had been at it for a while and their accuracy had only improved, but Asuna was beginning to tire. Fortunately, after killing her 67th Beedrill on the day, she had collected all the materials required to upgrade her weapon while leveling up as well.

{Let's take a break before walking back Kitsune, I'm exhausted.}

{There should be a nice pond just past this hill, let's go there?}

{Sounds fine to me.}

Asuna began walking up the grassy knoll in the direction of the water. It was late in the day and the sun would begin to set at any time. She made it a general rule to get back to town before dark unless it was necessary to stay longer for a quest. This way she was able to stock up on food and supplies before bed and was able to take a bath. It might not be optimal gameplay but holding onto these small habits made her feel oddly normal, as though this digital world hadn't claimed her completely.

Asuna reached the edge of the small pond and used her search skill to ensure there wasn't anyone lurking in the shadows. Having assuaged her fear of being ambushed, she found a nice grassy patch by the water and made herself comfortable. Sitting down with her legs crossed in front of her, she patted her leg to beckon to her Vulpix to come sit down. The tiny red fox clambered up onto her thigh, and after walking in a circle on her leg a few times and stepping softly onto her leg with its tiny padded feet, the Pokémon laid down with its head resting on her knee adorably. Asuna couldn't help but smile to herself and happily scratch behind its ears while falling deep into thought.

 _I never wanted a pet in real life but now I get why everyone wants one. It's not that I disliked animals or anything like that, but I was so busy with school that I didn't have time for a pet. It's not like mom would let us get one anyways even if I could convince dad. She'd just say that pets are more work for the maid and don't provide any real value. All she really seems to care about is her work and my grades. I know she's just concerned for my future, but it would have been nice to have pets or friends._

 _I guess that's kind of my fault too though, I was so worried about staying ahead of the curve that I only had academic rivals. Mom never said I couldn't have anyone over but I just told myself I was too busy doing homework and studying over exams, even over summer. I guess it's kind of pathetic now that I think about it, why am I even thinking about this now anyways? Oh well, the one good thing about this game is that I'm kind of close with people now. I'd still give anything to be out of here, but even if we're not friends yet, I still can talk to Liz and Argo whenever I feel like it. Not to mention this adorable little fur ball is always with me_.

Asuna giggled as Kitsune turned her face in her direction and stuck out her tongue before giving her leg a lick. _There's also that boy, I wonder how he's doing now, I haven't seen him in ages. I'm sure he's alive at least so maybe I should ask Argo-_

Asuna's thoughts were abruptly cut off by a blob of black ink being spewed towards her face. Fearing the worst, she attempted to dive to the side to dodge it but was too slow and got nailed in the cheek. Her lunge did have the effect of knocking Kitsune off of her lap and into the water though, which the fox Pokémon did not appear to be pleased with. Getting up out of the water and giving Asuna a dirty look, Kitsune shook the water off of her body in a direct attempt to get Asuna wet as well.

She was too concerned about an enemy approaching to be annoyed by a few drops of water though and once again inspected her surroundings. There was nothing in the water or on the opposite shore where the ink had seemed to come from so she turned around to check behind her just in case. *Splash* Asuna jumped up and barely held in a shriek as a cold burst of water shot into her skirt from behind, thoroughly drenching the lower half of her body. Turning around once again, Asuna spotted a tiny blue Pokémon in the shape of a seahorse with 3 spikes on either side of its head. The Pokémon was rolling around on its back side with its eyes closed and was emitting a strange sound continuously.

 _Is.. is.. is that little shit laughing at me? Oh hell no, I'm for sure catching this thing and keeping it in a box in the PC until this stupid game is over. I'll make it clean up this ink first though, ugh._ {Kitsune, use Flamethrower.}

The Vulpix had been drenched with the spray of water as well and was just as upset with the prankster Horsea as Asuna was. Expanding her lungs, the fire Pokémon released the most powerful flame attack in its arsenal with more power than ever before. The flames shot towards the Horsea at rapid speed and all of the water it came into contact with evaporated instantly, yet the Water-type Pokémon was too quick. It dived back into the water and resurfaced a few feet away with a taunting wink.

Kitsune was in no mood to play around however and fired Flamethrower after Flamethrower as soon as the Horsea resurfaced to no avail. Realizing that this strategy was futile, Asuna's mind kicked into gear. {Kitsune, stop firing and run towards this tree with me.}

{But master! I can't let this-}

{Kitsune, trust me, we aren't letting it get away. We'll definitely catch this thing and make it pay.}

Kitsune stopped firing at that point and began following her owner, who had begun briskly jogging towards the tree nearest to the water. The Horsea, seeing what they were doing, began swimming towards the surface while shooting Water Gun predictively in the location they were running in an attempt to douse the duo.

{Kitsune, Smokescreen.}

The fox Pokémon saw through her master's intentions and shot a smokescreen in front of them and the tree, covering the area with smoke. The Horsea was confused and annoyed that its playthings had gotten away. It began swimming towards the shore while sucking in air to blow the smokescreen out of the way. It had never expected for the red-haired girl to leap out of the smokescreen and stab her rapier into the water. Fortunately, the Horsea was able to see it just in time and dodge forwards, barely preventing itself from being skewered.

It laughed aloud, reveling in its escape, only to notice the happy grin on the girl's face. "Checkmate you lil fish."

With a flick of her wrist, Asuna slapped the rapier upwards into the Horsea and yanked hard. The result was that the sea horse Pokémon got flipped out of the water and into the air. Its eyes opened wide as a burst of flames hit it in the body before it could react. The orange blur of a Quick Attack followed the flames, knocking the Horsea down to half health and leaving it shocked on the grass. Lightning quick, the girl from before was at its side with a rapier pointed towards its neck and a Pokéball in her hand.

"Now you're going to be a good seahorse and stay inside of the Pokéball, okay?" the girl said with a cheery smile while pushing the rapier ever closer to the Horsea's skin. At this point it conceded that it had picked the wrong person to mess with. The ball sucked up the Horsea in a red and white zigzagging light, and after swinging to the side three times, it clicked to confirm the capture.

Releasing the newly acquired Pokémon from the Pokélink, Asuna smiled at the Horsea once more. {Hi! I'm Asuna, your new trainer, and this angry ball of fur is named Kitsune. Now that we're all friends here, do you think you could wash this ink off of my face?}

{As you desire, dearest princess, I shall rinse this putrid ink off of your face immediately.}

Asuna was rather surprised at this sudden shift in personality. This was the first Pokémon she had released from her Pokélink after catching it; it was also the first Pokémon that had assaulted her in an attempt to mess with her, so she wasn't sure if their personalities were meant to change or not after being caught. _It looks serious though, or at the least it doesn't look like it's joking. I guess it's personality really did change, maybe I can use this thing in my party after all._

{Okay thanks, I'm going to lift you up to my face now so be gentle. If you do it right I'll give you a good name. How about that?}

Asuna lifted the Horsea up to her face, an action she would regret moments later as a torrent of water sprayed into her face and drenched her upper body completely with cold water. Asuna dropped it onto the ground immediately and began wiping her face off with the sleeves of her shirt.

{The ink's all gone princess} the Horsea thought to her as it began rolling around in laughter once again. Asuna recalled something Kirito had taught her about the old Pokémon games as she thought of a suitable punishment while drying off.

{That's it, your name is officially Surf Slave.}

* * *

Asuna had just made it back to town and was searching for a specific blacksmith to upgrade her gear. She had felt uncomfortable asking the player blacksmiths for help and had been using the NPC blacksmiths as a result, but the player blacksmiths were rumored to have better results. Besides, the blacksmith she was going to see had an exceptionally good reputation, which was in part due to her being the only cute girl blacksmith. Asuna spotted her in the middle off the road talking to a few older guys who seemed to be carrying her things. The girl was arguing with them and telling them to not pack up the vendor's carpet on which her remaining smithing gear was currently laying.

"Liz! Hey wait for me, don't put your gear away yet."

"Asuna! I kept telling these guys you were coming but they told me it was too late and to pack up. They treat me like I'm a kid or something, it's so annoying," she said as she teasingly elbowed the guy next to her in the side.

"Hey, it's not our fault. If we don't come out here to help you pack up you end up staying out here till every last straggler has gone to bed."

"I can't help it! The best way I can help to beat this game is to upgrade weapons for people. Getting their weapons upgraded before they go out the next day could be the difference between life and death."

"Yeah yeah we know Liz, but if you don't get some sleep tonight then you'll be a liability when we go hunting for materials tomorrow."

"Sorry, I know you're just looking out for me and I appreciate it. As soon as I finish helping Asuna I'll pack up the rest and head to bed alright?"

The other members of her group consented and began walking back to the inn with most of her gear in tow.

"Jeez, those guys are such a handful, they really do treat me like a kid you know. Anyways, what do you need help with today?"

"You guys seem like you get along really well actually, it's nice. Besides, that tall guy is pretty hot."

"Ryushi? Yeah, I guess I do have a bit of a crush on him. He's a bit shy but he's nice and always does his best to help me out. And he's tall and cute of course" she said while closing her eyes and sticking her tongue out at Asuna. "All of them are like 5-6 years older than me so they probably just think of me as a little sister though. They were already friends in real life and were in a guild in a different game when I met them, but it's been really helpful having them with me in the game. I'd probably still be on the 1st floor crying if I'd had to play through this game solo like you have. Even with a group I didn't participate in the boss fight and don't have any gym badges; you're pretty awesome Asuna."

Asuna blushed, "It's really not nearly as impressive as you make it out to be. If anything, I'm jealous of how close **you** are with your friends, not to mention your crush. Anyways, I have the 18 Beedrill stingers needed to upgrade my rapier 3 times. Can you help me out?"

"Oh shut it, you're the one who has a crush on the guy you only partied with for a day. Sure thing though, let's get this pointy sword thingy upgraded! Let's see, how do I operate the menu…"

Asuna giggled as Lisbeth successfully pulled up the correct menu options with ease, despite feigning ignorance on how to use it. Lisbeth then took 4 of the Beedrill stingers and tossed them into the fire. Asuna's sword had already been upgraded twice, so it would take 4 then 6 then 8 Beedrill stingers to improve her chances of successful upgrading the weapon 3 times in a row. Lisbeth then picked up the rapier and placed it partially into the fire before hitting it with her smithing hammer 10 times.

Asuna watched the process in fascination. It really didn't seem as difficult as she had expected it to be, but she couldn't see herself being a blacksmith in this game despite that. She had already set her mind on trying to clear this game while being on the frontlines. The 10th clang rang out and Lisbeth picked up the weapon to examine it. Her expression immediately drooped in disappointment. "I'm sorry Asuna, the upgrade didn't work this time, do you want me to try again?"

"Oh, yeah no worries, it's fine. I really only need it upgraded twice anyways. Go ahead!"

Asuna felt slightly disappointed but she felt worse for the girl in front of her who seemed to be taking the failure harder than she herself had.

"Ok, here goes, I'll make it up to you this time."

Placing her hammer above the sword, Lisbeth hammered it another 10 times with determination on her face. She carefully picked up the rapier afterwards and checked its stats, then nearly burst into tears. "I'm really sorry Asuna, the upgrade didn't work again. I'll refund you your money and try to get you new materials soon, you should find a different blacksmith to do your upgrade."

"Liz, what're you on about? You don't have to apologize about messing up, it's all based on a random variable in a game. I like you and wouldn't want anyone else working on my gear so I won't take a refund. If you want to make it up to me, then try upgrading it one more time."

Lisbeth still had her head down but slowly took out her hammer and held it above the rapier once more. After swinging it 10 times, she brought the sword back up slowly as well and nervously checked its stats. Thankfully, some of the color returned to her face.

"It worked this time; your rapier is +3 Accuracy now. You have 6 stingers left if you want to upgrade it one more time, but you can still take it to a different blacksmith if you want better odds."

Asuna didn't even bother to respond, simply fixing Lisbeth with a warm, expectant smile. Liz sighed and began to hammer the rapier for the final time that night. 10 swings later and Liz's smile had nearly returned to normal.

"Here you go! You're at +4, I still feel bad so at least only pay me for the two successful attempts."

Asuna refused to pay for anything less than all 4 attempts despite Liz's complaints and wished her a good night before heading towards an inn. It had been a long and stressful day and she needed to unwind. She had spent most of the day killing gigantic, aggressive wasps in order to collect their stingers, been squirted with a combination of ink and water by a jerk of a sea horse, and had to console her blacksmith who nearly cried due to game RNG. It really was nothing like her real life had been, but Asuna couldn't say that she hated living in a game anymore. At times, it seemed to her that she was having more fun in here than she had ever had in the real world despite being trapped in a death game. Even so, she reminded herself that her goal was still to beat the game. She then drifted off to sleep without taking a bath for the first time since she had been sleeping in the safe room of a dungeon.

* * *

 **After it being recommended that I should change the title of this fanfic and realizing that there are two completed fanfics sharing the same name, I decided to change the name of this one. For now, I've decided on The Dark-Type Swordsman, which is a bit ironic considering the Pokémon Kirito added to his team in this chapter. It'll make more sense as the fic continues and he catches more Pokémon. I also decided to add a bit more backstory for Lisbeth and a few of the other girls but the events won't deviate too significantly from canon. Boss fight 2 will be next chapter but we'll start to see more interaction between Kirito and the girls after that.**


	10. Chapter 10

Kirito was walking through Petalburg Woods. As far as experience went, Kirito was overleveled for this area and it certainly wasn't a great place to level his Pokémon. However, with two relatively new Pokémon, this would be a good place to remember how to control multiple Pokémon in a battle at once. Battling a strong opponent straight away could lead to acquiring bad habits in how to control them and could even be fatal in a worst-case scenario. This wasn't the only reason for his journey through Petalburg Woods though.

 _Ok, assuming the story pretty closely resembles the game. I should be seeing a Devon Researcher up here somewhere. If things play out like I think they will, I'll get access to Dewford Town and, more importantly, Slateport City. Hopefully I can complete some of my Gathering quests while I'm out here too._

{Kirito, you act as though you know the events that will take place in this world. Do you perhaps have a form of precognition?}

{Master is not a Psychic-type; shouldn't it be you with the foreknowledge of events rather?}

{I have not yet learned the move Future Sight, perhaps once I have learned it I will be able to understand events yet to come as Guru Kirito can.}

{I'm not a psychic, so please don't call me Guru. I just have previous experience with this g… world from an adventure I went on.}

{Perhaps I will attain more knowledge and skill when I evolve, but I can never see myself becoming as powerful as Guru Kirito. I could sense his latent psychic talent the moment I laid my feeler on him.}

{Please refrain from laying your feeler on Master anymore, he's very uncomfortable with physical contact,} said Kiriko while clutching Kirito's arm in her human form.

{Yo Leader dude, can I go kill some Caterpies or something? I'm bored of this girly chit-chat, let me fight something!}

{Calm down all of you, we're about to fight a Team Aqua member and we've already battled a lot of people on this route so I don't want to waste PP.}

Although Kirito said they should have a battle coming up, he was becoming less and less sure of it. Petalburg Woods had been much smaller in the Pokémon games so it might be coming up, but even so, there was a chance the event had been moved to a different area entirely. As he turned yet another corner in the woods, walking through thick grass that came up to his knees despite being near the thick tree-line, he noticed a man in an emerald green business suit hunched over the ground.

"Not a one to be found," the man said as he stood up straight and dusted himself off. He looked to be a good 15 to 20 years older than Kirito and had a professional look to him due to the briefcase he carried in his right hand. Despite having an idea of the man's appearance beforehand, Kirito was still surprised at how comical the sight of a man in an all green suit was. _I guess I'm not one to talk though while wearing all black. Is this what I look like to everyone else?_

The man looked around and noticed Kirito facing him. Approaching him with a friendly smile, the man said, "Hi, you look like a trainer, have you seen any Pokémon called Shroomish around here? I really love that Pokémon."

Kirito waited patiently for a Team Aqua member to approach. The speech was almost exactly what he remembered from Pokémon Emerald. However, after 5 seconds or so had passed, the man ran a hand through his hair and spoke nervously. "Er, I'm sorry to be wasting your time but if you do see one could you let me know? I'll reimburse you for it."

Kirito opened his mouth to respond, surprised that this wasn't a cut scene of sorts, only for a Team Aqua member to appear on the other side of the tree-lined corridor and march quickly towards where he was standing. _Did Kayaba change the timing just to make this scene awkward for experienced players? It just seems like adding meaningless dialogue. Oh well, this should give me an idea of what to expect with the rest of the Team Aqua quests._

"Hey! You there! I was going to ambush you, but you had to dawdle in Petalburg Woods forever, didn't you? I got sick of waiting so here I am! You, Devon Researcher, hand over those papers."

The startled researcher let out a surprised yelp and ran away from the man wearing predominantly blue and white sailing clothing and a bandana with some sort of skull on it. Putting himself safely between Kirito and the Team Aqua member, he pleaded with Kirito to help him.

"You're a Pokémon trainer, aren't you? You've got to help me, please!"

Kirito turned to face the Team Aqua member while readying himself for battle. He ensured that he was able to see 4 screens in his own mind. The middle screen, slightly larger than the rest, was Kirito's own vision while the other 3 surrounding it in a circle let him see through the eyes of his Pokémon. He was a bit rusty after having not used this technique since the end of the beta; nevertheless, he was sure he would master it again quickly. Apparently though, his lack of concentration on the dialogue had been noticed.

"Hey you, are you even listening to me? You have some nerve to cross Team Aqua without fearing for your life, but that's the last mistake you'll ever make. Come on and battle me."

The man with a blue bandana summoned 3 Poochyena to his side using his Pokélink. Smirking at Kirito, he pulled out his sword but stayed back while his Poochyena approached in his place.

Kirito pulled out his sword as well. {Okay, Estelle, you have a disadvantageous matchup so stay in the back and support us. I'll take the middle one while Kiriko and Chardcore take the ones on the side.} Dashing forward, he let loose the 4-hit sword skill Vertical Square. Having entered the correct position to activate the attack and aiming accurately at the upper chest of the small black dog-Pokémon approaching him, he re-concentrated on what was going on around him. On the right side, he saw the wind-up for Sand Attack and on the left he saw an incoming Bite attack.

{Chardcore, avoid that Sand Attack to the left and retaliate with Ember. Kiriko, hit that Poochyena with a Sucker Punch while Estelle blasts it with a Psybeam.} In his mind's eye, Kirito watched as his Pokémon executed his plan perfectly. Without any additional directions, the Charmeleon finished off the weakened Poochyena with a Dragon Rage attack to drain its life points as Kirito's sword skill ended. At the same time, the Gothita's Psybeam attack smashed into the third Poochyena, finishing off the opponent despite it resisting both attacks it was hit with by 20%. All 3 of the Team Aqua member's Pokémon exploded into shards simultaneously and disappeared.

"Grr, you've got some nerve messing with Team Aqua. Come on and battle me again!" Kirito began to approach the Team Aqua member but the man quickly retracted his statement.

"Wait! I mean, I wish I could say that but I'm all out of Pokémon ahaha. Actually, I have some business to take care of in Rustboro so I'll be going now!" With that said, the Team Aqua Grunt hightailed it out of there as quickly as possible and the man in the green suit came forward to thank Kirito.

"Whew, that was awfully close." Kirito snickered to himself. "Thanks to you, he didn't rob me of these important papers. Here, I'll give you a Great Ball as thanks! Didn't that guy say they were after something in Rustboro though? Uh-oh… this could be a crisis, I can't be wasting time!" The man in the green suit began sprinting in the direction from where the Team Aqua member had approached earlier.

 _Well, that was easy. From what I can tell, it seems like Team Aqua members are likely to have more Pokémon based on how many you have in your party. I wonder how it deals with groups of multiple trainers. Anyways, I should get going to Rustboro too, I can't be wasting too much time in this area._

* * *

Kirito opened up his inventory and looked at his badge list. Next to his Balance Badge stood a reddish-brown diamond separated in the middle by a small rectangle. Acquiring the Stone Badge hadn't been overly difficult and the Defense boost to his Pokémon that came along with it was appreciated. He scrolled to the Items slot and selected the TM icon. Choosing TM 39 and selecting the Charmeleon in his party, Kirito taught his Pokémon the move Rock Tomb, which he had been gifted following the battle with Roxanne. The battle had not been particularly tough despite the high defense stat of her Nosepass and the numerous potions she had used mid battle to restore its health. He had completed the gym in a bit under an hour, and after restoring the health of his Pokémon, he was preparing for a quick trip to Rusturf Tunnel.

After talking to a man from the Devon corporation who mentioned some stolen goods, Kirito headed through the route in the direction of the tunnel. Along the way, he fought a few trainers and tried and failed to capture an Abra with a Great Ball before it teleported to safety. Kirito then reached the edge of the tunnel; while it was called a tunnel, from the outside it looked every bit like a massive cave. The rocky landscape continued upwards giving the cave the appearance of a small hill surrounded with boulders. Climbing a small man-made staircase, he approached an elderly man pacing pack and forth in front of a black hole in the wall that seemed to serve as an entrance.

Spotting Kirito, the man slowly walked towards him with a sad look in his eyes. Stopping right in front of him and bowing, the man pleaded, "Please help me, kind sir. I don't know what I am to do. We were on our walk, me and Peeko, when a thug jumped out at us! Oh, and Peeko is a Pokémon, she's my Pokémon, a Wingull. Well the odd scoundrel jumped us sure enough and he made off with my darling Peeko! If I was still in my youth, hell would hath no fury as hot as mine! I would surely get back my pearl. Arrggghh, but alas, I have become old and frail and have no other Pok…"

"AIIIIIEEEEEE!"

A loud scream coming from the direction of the tunnel's entrance assaulted Kirito's eardrums, causing his Gothita to cover its sensitive feeler. Pushing past the old man and rushing into the cave, it took Kirito a second for his eyesight to adjust. When it did, the first thing he noticed was a black-haired girl around his age with tears in her eyes, trying desperately to fend off a Team Aqua member with her sword and shield. She was clearly inexperienced using it and was doing no more than slowing down the enemy's attack by attempting to block with her sword. It wasn't enough to fully stop the attacks though and her HP was slowly being ground to the red; her shield was forgotten at her side. She must have been forgetting to command her Pokémon as well, as the Cubone beside her was mimicking her defense by using its bone to fend off the enemy Poochyena's fangs. The girl appeared to have 4 other Party members who were engaged in battle with Team Aqua members as well.

A golden-haired boy with a knife was struggling in his fight but didn't appear to be nearly as mentally shaken and the Farfetch'd beside him seemed to be faring well with its stick. The other 3 boys all had black hair and seemed to be roughly matched with their opponents. They appeared to be battling with one Pokémon each too: a Roggenrola, a Gible, and a Treecko. While they weren't in trouble, their attention was caught by the opponents in front of them and none seemed able to break away in order to help the others. Not bothering to ask if his help was wanted after hearing the scream, Kirito leaped into action.

{Kiriko help the blond guy with the knife and Chardcore take the Poochyena by the girl. Estelle, you roam around and help whoever needs it. Go!}

His Pokémon rushed forward as Kirito did the same, dashing towards the Team Aqua member who had just chipped off a third of the girl's remaining HP. She was left with only a fifth of her HP and desperation and fear shone in her eyes. The man readied his sword and prepared to drive it into the girl for what could be the last time, but was intercepted by a different sword slicing up and back down the side of his head. The critical hit did nearly 80% of his health and a final jab of Kirito's sword cleaved away the last of his life points. The man burst into shards of light, his fleeting look of surprise fading away as Kirito quickly turned to survey the field.

His Zorua and Charmeleon had driven back their opponents and the tides of battle seemed to have turned. After making sure that the stunned girl was safe and instructing his Gothita to stand by and protect her, Kirito and his Pokémon assisted the rest of the party until victory was assured. He made sure to stop his onslaught as soon as possible in an attempt to not steal all of the experience. The opponents seemed to be around the same level as the Team Aqua Grunt he had encountered in the woods, and it took him only one or two sword-skills to kill them. Once everything had died down and the Wingull had been returned to the groveling man outside of the cave, the group properly introduced themselves to Kirito. A confident boy with brown hair who looked to be a year or two older than Kirito spoke first.

"Hiya, thanks a lot for your help back there! We were in big trouble. My name is Keita and I'm the leader of the Moonlit Black Cats! We aren't an official guild yet but we're aiming to reach the front lines one day! These guys here are Sasamaru, Ducker, Tetsuo, and Sachi."

"Thanks man."

"Your skills are pretty impressive!"

"You saved us back there."

"Th-th-thank you, thank you so much."

"Oh it's no problem, I didn't really do much. My name's Kirito and I'm a solo player."

"Wow, a solo player like you must be pretty high-leveled to make it through this area, what level are you?"

Kirito hesitated as he thought about how to respond. _These guys must be way lower-leveled than me if they're finding this area difficult. How did they get out here anyways? I don't want them to think I'm a beater or something though, these guys seem nice enough._

"I'm uh, probably just a few levels higher than you."

"Wow, that's amazing that you can make it through this area, I guess having 3 Pokémon probably helps though."

"Is that a shiny Charmeleon? Wow!"

"Yeah, having more Pokémon helps a lot once you get used to it but you don't want to use a Pokémon that you don't plan on keeping later on. You'll just end up losing out on experience if that's the case. So why are you guys doing this mission at your levels?"

"We talked to an info broker and they told us this area was perfect for people like us to level up on."

"Yeah, the Pokémon in this tunnel are just really weak Whismur and the trainers in the woods were easy to handle for a party, even the Team Aqua guy."

"Actually, if the Team Aqua guy hadn't been just some weak guy with 5 Poochyena, we wouldn't have come to this cave in the first place. After beating him we figured we could advance the quest a bit. In the original Pokémon games there's only one trainer in this cave, so we were caught off guard when more of them showed up."

 _Even so, these guys shouldn't be nearly dying to Team Aqua Grunts. If they want to get anywhere near the front lines they'll have to improve a lot._ Kirito's train of thought was derailed by the cute girl in front of him breaking her silence.

"It's probably my fault that we got in trouble. I'm… I'm not very good at fighting with a sword and shield yet, and fighting against other people is even scarier than fighting Pokémon. I should probably have never left the Town of Beginnings."

"Nonsense Sachi! I was struggling too and I've been using a knife since the start. Once you get better at using something besides a spear you'll be fine!"

"Ducker is right Sachi, transitioning to a new role is always hard. Anyways, we should show our gratitude and treat our new friend to dinner."

"Thanks a lot, but I actually have somewhere I need to be soon."

"That's fine." Keita gave Kirito a light knock on the shoulder. "If you're busy then it can't be helped. At least let us give you the Devon goods we got from this quest. We won't be working on the Team Aqua storyline again for a while."

The group began to walk back to town and Kirito walked with them. Kirito offered the group advice on how to protect their members by switching in and out even during individual fights, but there was a limit to explaining things with words alone. For the most part, he walked in silence beside them and listened. The group seemed to be made up of real-world friends judging from the frequency of inside jokes. In a way, he envied them. If people like them were part of the clearing group then surely there wouldn't be as much infighting among the clearers. More than that though, Kirito had never really experienced having a friend group, even in the real world. He had a few friends but was mostly a loner who interacted with people online.

From what he could tell, Keita was the charismatic leader who seemed perpetually cheerful. The Gible that jumped around beside him seemed to share his enthusiasm and joking manner. Ducker would have been a thief if POW had classes like a normal MMORPG and seemed overly confident in his Dagger-skills, based on what Kirito had seen of the previous battle. Sasamaru and Tetsuo both seemed pretty laid back and were training a Roggenrola and a Treecko respectively. The last member was the girl Sachi.

She was a petite girl with shoulder-length black hair and a light blue tunic. Kirito had been by her side for most of the walk back, and from what he had gathered, she was part of a school computer club with the other members back in the real world. For most of the walk back however, they had walked in silence with him nervously trying to figure out what to talk about. Luckily, she had been able to work up her courage and start the conversation instead, which kept things from being uncomfortably awkward. Sachi was easy to talk to and seemed to have similar interests as well. When she wasn't at school, she was normally playing games like Kirito and she had one sister back home who she missed very much. Before he knew it, they had reached the Devon Offices.

It was time for Kirito to leave, but he couldn't help but feel regretful that he couldn't stay with the group. They were friendly towards him despite his social ineptness and they didn't hate him for being a beater like most of the clearers did. He really did need to get back though; the quest had taken him longer than expected and the meeting for the second raid boss was tomorrow. He waved goodbye to the group, his eyes lingering on Sachi's own for an extra second, and then he turned and headed off.

* * *

"Chardcore? What kind of ridiculous name is that Kii-bou? I doubt anyone would still fear you as a Beater if they knew how you named your Pokémon."

"Shut up, I don't want to hear it from someone who named their Aipom 'P Diddy Kong'."

"You know full well that was a joke…"

Asuna snickered as Argo relentlessly argued with Kirito. Even Agil and his pals behind them had started to crack up at the unfortunate Pokémon names. While she still talked with Liz and Argo occasionally, it had been a while since she'd partied with someone else. _I've got to admit, I kind of miss this. Maybe I should join a guild after all, my Pokémon can kind of keep me company but it's more fun with actual people around to talk to. Fat chance I'll be able to convince Argo or Kirito to join one though._

{You're heinous, erm, I mean Your Highness, I've come to appreciate the name you gave to me. I thought you were using the name as a punishment but it appears Pokémon trainers just have bad taste after all.}

{Quiet down Surf Slave, I still haven't forgiven you for inking me and I could come up with a worse name right now.}

{Duly noted.}

As they approached the door leading to the raid boss, the group quieted down. In front of the door there stood two men waiting for everyone else to settle down. The one on the right, wearing a mostly green outfit and with a Cacnea and Corsola on either side of him, was Kibaou. It was as if he had selected his Pokémon in order to match his hairstyle, and Asuna couldn't tell if she was impressed or wanted to laugh. The other man had dyed his hair blue and looked eerily similar to Diabel. He had apparently managed to catch a Zangoose which stood imposingly next to his Servine. Stepping forward, he took command of the room.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Lind, currently head of one of the largest two groups among the clearers known as the Divine Dragonite Alliance. Myself and Kibaou will be taking turns in heading the clearing group during raids until another system is established." This wasn't news to anyone after the meeting the previous day. _Well, it looks like the Legend Braves aren't going to be protesting again for now. I still wish Agil and his group would try to take leadership though. Everyone seems to respect him at least and these raid group meetings went much better when we had a unified leader like Diabel. I wonder what he's up to now anyways, he's disappeared since the last raid._

"From what we've heard from our Beta sources, assuming they are in fact telling the truth in its entirety," This brought some malicious looks towards some of her party members but they didn't seem to notice them. A tall, cloaked figure in Kibaou's group seemed poised to say something but shut his mouth at a look from Kibaou. If she remembered correctly, his name was Joe and he had been trying to harass Kirito at the meeting yesterday before Agil's group showed up.

"Falkner will be using a nodachi and his Pidgeotto will be tough to kill. We've made sure to plan for any ability it can have, so we won't waste time trying to lower its accuracy or defense in case it has the ability Keen Eye or Big Pecks. Most importantly, don't try to confuse it. The ability Tangled Feet ups its evasion when confused which could be a worst-case scenario. Expect it to use mostly flying-type moves so if your Pokémon is weak to flying then have it stay back. The difficulty in this fight will be the Pidgeotto using Roost when its life bar gets low. Knocking off a life bar prevents it from recovering that HP so go all out with Fighting-type attacks as soon as the animation starts. Remember, Roost takes away a Pokémon's Flying typing until the move is finished so only Fighting-type moves will be super effective. We don't expect any other surprises from this boss and we've already gone over the positions, so let's get this battle started."

With that, the large double doors with intricate wing designs were pushed open and the raid group began to silently march inside. _He's careful and a good strategist but he isn't motivating in the slightest. It feels like we're walking into a library instead of a life-threatening battle._

Asuna didn't have any more time to think about the leadership issues plaguing the clearing group after making her way inside. Her role would be to engage any adds in order to prevent them from interfering with the groups fighting the boss. She equipped her rapier and prepared herself for battle.

* * *

The first of the giant bird's 4 life bars had been whittled down to 5%. The clearing group had done an admirable job of switching aggro and taking potion breaks in order to ensure a margin of safety. Even so, their work thus far would largely be in vain if they allowed their opponent to restore half of its life bar. After dodging a Wing Attack, a powerful combination attack from Kibaou and his Corsola preceded a loud screech from the Pidgeotto, it's life bar having been chipped down once more. Asuna could see that Kibaou's Cacnea was staying far back and shooting ranged attacks with breaks between every attack so as not to draw the Pidgeotto's attention. _He may be a buffoon and a bit of an ass, but he's not a complete idiot._

Following the screeching sound, the Pokémon's powerful wings flapped dramatically as it raised itself slowly out of the range of any physical attacks. It was bound to attempt to Roost soon, so as long as the clearers could avoid being devastated by the next attack then they would be able to fully eliminate the first life bar with no problems. Asuna would curse herself for being too optimistic moments later when the Pidgeotto's wings blended into a flurry of movement and elicited a strong Whirlwind that knocked anyone near it several meters backwards into their comrades and the wall. Fortunately, only a single Machop that had already been low was a casualty. The death of a Fighting-type Pokémon would certainly slow their progress however.

Its attack over, the red and yellow tailfeathers of the Pidgeotto approached the floor first, followed by its body and its bright red plumage. Settling down on the ground in a comfortable position, it looked as though it were taking a nap and numerous fluffy feathers began to fall from nowhere and surround it. Many of the clearers recognized that the Pokémon was using Roost but were in no position to recover in time to attack it. Staring in horror, morale drastically decreased as the Pidgeotto's health went soaring upwards, followed by the Pidgeotto itself as it finished roosting and prepared for another attack.

Asuna realized at once what needed to happen to defeat the boss before it could Roost, and she was sure that she wasn't the only one. {Surf Slave, use smoke screen to open me up a path. Kitsune, combo with Flamethrower.} She didn't bother to give out the full direction, knowing Kitsune would understand what she meant. Despite her Horsea's cheeky attitude, it was reliable in battle and shot a smokescreen in front of her to hide her location from most of the adds. Asuna began running forward and nailed the Pidgey attempting to intercept her with a Linear to the stomach. The bird was shot upwards by the impact and the ever-so-pleasant sound of fire crackling as it roasted away the rest of the Pidgey's health brought a smile to Asuna's face.

 _It's nice to know I can count on them even if they aren't real._ {Nice aim Kitsune, you too Surf Slave.}

Rushing through the smoke, Asuna found Kirito just in time to see a Taillow eating a Dark Pulse and a Metal Claw while a Starly was hit with Confusion and a Vertical Arc. Kirito and his Pokémon were all nearly full health and it was apparent that he shouldn't be stuck dealing with small mobs. Asuna ground her teeth at the unfairness of it all and ran forward. "Kirito, did you see what happened with the Pidgeotto?"

"Yeah I did, I never saw that combination in the Beta. It would catch anyone off guard."

"You know how to get around it though, don't you?"

Kirito shifted uncomfortably, "I do but I don't think that matters. Even if the others needed my help I doubt it would be appreciated. Lind and Kibaou aren't idiots or anything."

"I know that, but on the off chance they don't recognize it you'll do something right?"

"Asuna, If I help out it'll do more harm than good. No one is going to listen to me, we need an actual le-"

Kirito was cut off as a number of Flying-type mobs popped in between them. Jabbing a Linear into a Spearow before retreating, Asuna made sure she was safe before looking back towards the boss. The rest of the groups could deal with the mobs for now, but if Pidgeotto continued to Roost off any damage then it would be all for naught and they would be forced to retreat. Her fears were alleviated somewhat as she noticed the boss was continuing to take damage at a consistent rate and all of the clearers were in the green. As its health bar approached 15% though, she noticed that Lind and Kibaou seemed to be jockeying for position at the front with one another, and their groups were watching hesitantly behind them.

 _At this rate we won't take down Pidgeotto's health bar out this time either. Even if we have plenty of time we don't have infinite potions. Who can I find to help out? THINK. Okay, Agil, Argo, and the leader of the Legend Braves all could do it. I think his name was… Orlando. Uh-huh it is Orlando but I don't remember what he looks like._

Instructing her Pokémon to keep fighting without her, Asuna began to search for Agil and Argo as quickly as she could. She managed to spot Agil's large form near the wall but he was engaging a number of full-health opponents, and she had no clue where the relatively short Argo could be amidst the havoc. Looking back across the large, open chamber, she noticed that the Pidgeotto's health had fallen once again below 10%. In fact, she saw almost no difference in the squadron formation amongst the clearers, making it an almost identical scene to before apart from the two men arguing with each other while their groups watched idly in discomfort.

 _Oh to hell with it._ Losing patience and giving up on her search, Asuna sprinted to the center of the room where her voice would be heard and yelled to get everyone's attention. "HEY, EVERYONE LISTEN UP." Everyone not fighting the boss turned around to see the cause of commotion and stared at Asuna. Not losing her nerve, she continued.

"You two, quit your juvenile arguing and get it together already. Are you supposed to be leaders or preschoolers fighting over a toy? Because I really can't tell the difference right now." Lind and Kibaou had mixed looks of astonishment and anger on their faces, but after turning to face one another, their expressions changed rapidly to that of embarrassment.

"The rest of you, Pidgeotto is going to use Whirlwind again when it hits low HP. If the reserves are directly behind the people fighting then you're just going to get knocked into each other again. If you don't have something sturdy behind you then you'll be knocked back too. So anyone not fighting get out of the line of fire and line up against the wall. When Whirlwind ends, run forward and take out its life bar before it can Roost. This isn't exactly rocket science."

* * *

Kirito couldn't help but marvel at Asuna. Aside from being smart and the prettiest girl he'd ever seen, she was able to overcome being a complete video game noob to become a leader in no time at all. She was the ray of light that gave him hope that this game could be cleared one day. Whatever guild she joined would certainly lead them all to victory. However, what Kirito was quickly starting to realize was that this game wasn't fair. Not in the slightest. The Pidgeotto had Roosted twice unexpectedly in the middle of its final life bar, which no one was prepared to stop in time. When the clearers had grasped this new tactic, the game threw a new wrench into the equation by having Falkner and his gleaming silver nodachi interfere with any attempts to prevent Roost from completing.

The clearing group had finally worked out a strategy to prevent the massive bird from regaining health, but with its health bar approaching its final tenth, he was worried that some new strategy would emerge to screw with them. A few Pokémon had died thus far but there were no human casualties. Even so, it could take only a single casualty to start off a chain of events that would fragment the clearing group. There had been no deaths in the previous raid boss battle until near the end after all.

Suddenly, the Pidgeotto began to shine a light-silver as though it had become transparent before returning to its normal brown and yellow color. Nobody moved towards it, but after nothing happened for close to 10 seconds, a member of Lind's group regained his composure. "Blitzle, hit it with a Double-Edge!"

The electric zebra Pokémon ran towards the Pidgeotto with increasing speed and, lowering its head right before impact, rammed into the bird Pokémon with full force. The Pidgeotto was knocked backwards a bit, but before the Blitzle could recover it flapped its wings with tremendous power and headed right back towards the Blitzle. If the Blitzle had used almost any other move it would have recovered in time to dodge. Unfortunately, it was shell-shocked due to the recoil and the winged beast smashed directly into it, causing it to erupt into brilliant shards of light.

The Blitzle's owner was devastated. "No… it can't be, he-he was just full HP." _Damn, I feel bad for him. No one could have expected that to happen. Actually, I'm pretty sure Pidgeotto can only learn Double Edge from a move tutor so there's no way he could've seen that coming._

As Kirito thought to himself, the Pidgeotto gleamed silver once more before being hit by another attack. Stunned, Kirito processed the events in what felt like slow motion. The Pidgeotto hadn't used Double-Edge for the first time randomly, but after gleaming a transparent silver color, like a mirror. The move was normally useless in competitive play and wasn't learned by Pidgeotto until over level 50 so he hadn't bothered to consider it, but Falkner's Pidgeotto was underleveled to become a Pidgeotto in the first place so that wouldn't matter. It was definitely using Mirror Move. This meant that the move that it would use next would be the next attack to hit it. As he looked over to the Pokémon that had used the last attack, his stomach plummeted full speed down an elevator towards the center of the Earth. His ears confirmed his worst suspicions moments later as the sound of Chatter emanated from the Chatot at the tall, cloaked trainer's side.

"EVERYONE, COVER YOUR EARS!"

Moments after the attack had taken a chip out of the Pidgeotto's HP, the earlier Chatter sound was reflected back at them with a far greater volume that affected nearly every Pokémon and trainer in the room and caused the Confusion status effect. Kirito's warning had fallen on largely deaf ears, saving nearly no one from being afflicted by the status condition. The Confusion status effect would disorient the senses of trainers while giving any Pokémon affected a 50% chance of hitting itself rather than its target. In other words, utter pandemonium erupted.

Pokémon and trainers alike all started to attack at once while the Pidgeotto began to swerve swiftly in the air, dodging almost all of them with help from its Evasion buff. The overall health of the clearing party took a wallop and more than a few Pokémon were killed in the chaos. The massive bird continued to fly around the room and, with a crazy look in its eye, divebombed a member of Lind's party with the move Pluck. The man had clearly never dealt with the effects of Confusion before and was staring up at the approaching Pidgeotto with his hands over his ears and his mouth forming the motion of a soundless scream. Before Kirito could get anywhere near, the man's life became void and his avatar crumbled into fragments. The Pidgeotto kicked off into the air once more in search of its next target.

By this time, Kirito had gotten much closer and was ready to counterattack. {Look out for any errant attacks from the clearers, they're all Confused so anything could happen. As soon as the Pidgeotto descends again, attack with Psybeam, Dark Pulse, and Ember. Get ready, it's coming.} Fortunately, none of the other players had died yet since they'd all been in the green prior to the Confusion effect, but if it lasted any longer then the casualties would start to stack up.

The Pidgeotto decided on its next prey and swooped down once more towards the tall, cloaked man with the Chatot from before. The man had taken the full brunt of Mirror Move and was laughing nervously while staring at the approaching bird Pokémon. Taking out his sword, he began the windup for a sword skill. Kirito had taken off the moment the Pidgeotto began descending and reached the man just in time. Diving forward, he tackled the man out of the way just before the Pidgeotto could… hit itself and crash into the ground embarrassingly short of its target.

The damage it had inflicted upon itself brought it down to a sliver of health and numerous long-ranged Pokémon attacks were streaking towards it, but Kirito wasn't taking any chances. Leaping to his feet, he rushed forwards with a Vertical Arc and nailed the Pidgeotto directly in the neck. His critical strike was the final blow that ended the Pidgeotto's rampage. The bird twitched a few times before going completely still, aside from its feathers which began to move faintly. They quivered slowly at first before gaining speed and ultimately exploding forth from the bird all at once. A shower of feathers covered all of the trainers and their Pokémon, healing them back to full health as they recovered from their status effect. When the air finally cleared, there was no other sign that the bird had existed aside from a large Banner saying 'Congratulations' in its place.

"Congrats, you cleared the Flying Elemental Gym. 2 down, 15 more to go! Ha, better get going to the next area." With that, Falkner walked out of the door, leaving the clearers to their own devices.

"Y-you dirty beater, that Last Attack Bonus belongs to me. G-give it to me."

Kirito hadn't even registered that he had earned the Last Attack Bonus yet. Looking down at his inventory, he noticed that he had earned a Sharp Beak and a Lucky Egg along with the normal items from participating in a raid. Looking back up at where the voice had come from, he spotted the tall, cloaked man from before. Taking a better look at him, the man was a member of Kibaou's party named Joe. He had a slender build and his hood covered his features for the most part. Perhaps sensing that his hood made him look untrustworthy, he removed it before seeking affirmation.

"Hey you, over there, you were looking right? He rammed right into me when I was about to attack it to steal the kill from me. He was just after the LA all along."

"Um, I'm pretty sure you're telling the truth. I definitely saw him knock you over before killing the boss and this isn't the first time he's stolen the LA."

"Hold on for a second, I wasn't after the LA, honest. I was trying to save him."

"Are you kidding me? You might think no one would notice because we were all confused but I saw it with my own eyes. That Pidgeotto crashed nearly 10 feet away from him and all you did was slam into him to stop his sword skill. Do you fancy yourself a hero or something for stealing the LA? You could've gotten someone killed."

Kirito was at a loss for words. Of course it would look bad to an observer, but he really couldn't take any chances when the Pidgeotto had just one-shot someone. Should he have just hoped that the Pidgeotto would miss the man and done nothing? He had no idea what to say to defuse this situation. Luckily, Agil came to his aid once more.

"Now hold on a minute, isn't this man right here the one who confused the Pidgeotto in the first place? I specifically recall Lind saying not to afflict the Confusion status effect on it."

"A-anyone could have made that mistake. I forgot about it in the heat of the moment but I swear it wasn't intentional. B-besides, wasn't it him who shouted to cover our ears? He clearly knew what was coming!"

"Oh yeah, he totally did know."

"Hey jerk, why don't you tell us this stuff before the fight instead of lording it over us."

"You're just a wannabe hero! You barge in to try to save the day at the end and steal the LA while letting us do all of the work."

As the sounds of agreement increased in volume, Kirito spotted Asuna walking forward, her face red with anger. Smiling inwardly, Kirito knew he couldn't allow her to talk. _If something happens to Asuna, we may never clear the elemental bosses. I'm useful now due to my beta knowledge but what we need is a leader like her. I can't let her take my side and throw that away._

Kirito motioned desperately for Asuna to stay quiet. Catching her attention in time, he put on what he hoped was an evil look once more and began to laugh. He laughed for a long time, so long that even he was beginning to be creeped out by the time he stopped. Having shut everyone up, he announced, "Yeah, I wanted the LA bonus so I pushed him out of the way. Happy? As far as Mirror Move goes, I would have told everyone before the fight about it if I thought it was a possibility. I may be a shitty person and a thief, but I wouldn't kill anyone intentionally. Do you expect me to be psychic or something? Stop blaming me for your own problems and think on your own for once."

"Hold me back! Hold me back or I'm going to end up killing that guy."

"Show your face at another boss battle and you won't come out alive, you hear me."

"I have no intentions of showing up to another boss battle to be killed. I leave all the future LA bonuses to you. Good luck without me when you can't even decide on a leader."

With that, Kirito walked out of a raid boss room for what would likely be the last time.

Reaching the outside and continuing to walk, Kirito pondered what to do next. _I'm basically banned from raids now and I'm definitely the most hated player in the game. Maybe I shouldn't have overdone it quite so much with that speech. Thinking about it logically, all I can really do is gym battles and play through the story now. Assuming the clearers can beat the elemental gyms then I can still be useful against the League of Elites at least. I wonder what Diabel has been up to, he's basically in the same position as me after all. Well, he doesn't have 20 of the most powerful players in the game wanting to kill him so that might not be true. So… what to do, how do I help us beat the game?_

Kirito finished scrolling through his Items list and checked his messages quickly. He was about to close his inventory when he remembered a message he had received a couple days ago. Opening it up, he read through the contents.

'Hey Kirito, just wanted to say that we really appreciate you saving us in Rusturf Tunnel once again. I'm sure you chose to be a solo player for a good reason, but if you ever feel like partying up then the Moonlit Black Cats are always here for you. Not to mention we could really use some tips from a player like you. Catch ya later- Keita'.

Well, perhaps there was one way that Kirito could still help with clearing the game. _This is a great excuse to talk to Sachi again too, wait, what am I thinking?_ Closing his inventory, he resolved to get some rest and message them in the morning.

* * *

"Please let us go, we've already given you the Wingull and the Devon Goods. We have nothing else to offer."

The Team Aqua member was on his knees begging a cloaked man with a large meat cleaver of a knife not to kill him. Around him, his comrades were in similar positions with the blades of a man with red eyes and of a man with a black sack-like mask pressed to their necks. While the men holding his comrades were certainly dangerous, they paled in comparison to the man in front of him. The man gave off the aura of death itself, and he had defeated him and his Poochyena with only a knife, apparently seeing no need to call out his Pokémon.

The hooded figure chuckled in a cold, merciless tone before speaking. "Do you believe that, Johnny? Xaxa? He says they have nothing else to give us."

"I'm sure there's something else they can do for us boss. I'm just dying to see the CPU's reaction to torture. Kayaba made these things extra lifelike," said the masked one while licking his lips.

"Now now, hold off on the bloodshed, perhaps we can reach a deal that benefits everyone. Now, you Team Aqua thugs would love to return back to the hideout with the Devon Goods, right? I bet you'd get a promotion and everything."

The Team Aqua member wasn't sure what to say. The situation was not one of the expected situations when programming the game of course. As a minor antagonist however, the Team Aqua Grunt had an evolving language center and was able to make actions consistent with his role in the story. Coming to the decision that he would like to return with the goods and receive a promotion, he spoke. "Yes, we would like to do those things. Please return the Devon Goods."

"Let's not be too hasty now, hahaha, this has to be a good trade for both of us after all. I'll give you the Devon Goods, but in exchange you have to take me along with you to your hideout."

The Team Aqua member hesitated and looked towards his companions. Sensing the Grunt's confusion, the mysterious hooded figure spoke again. "Ah, if you're worried about giving up your hideout you don't have to bring me there, all you have to do is bring me to your boss and the Goods are yours. You can even tell them we're coming. You have no reason to refuse that deal, do you?"

"No, this will do. I will message the boss and we will bring you to our hideout."

The sound of a blade rattling against the floor followed as the red-eyed accomplice let go of the Team Aqua member he was holding. "No way boss, you were actually able to negotiate with a NPC! I didn't even think that was possible."

A thick knife was at his throat in the next instant. "Not another word, I've just managed to get us an audience with their boss and here you are spouting off crass words like NPC. Say whatever you want back at our base, but in the presence of others we are members of this world like everyone else. Don't break the illusion, or I'll be forced to break you."

With a flourish of his cape, the man released Xaxa and graciously caught and shook the Team Aqua Grunt's hand. "We are honored to be able to strike this deal with you, shall we head to the hideout immediately? I believe I may know a shortcut…"

As the men began to walk deeper into the cave, Xaxa massaged his throat and whispered to his partner. "Man, I really don't know what the hell goes through his mind sometimes. If there's one thing I do know though, it's that no one is going to be able to stop him in this game. As long as we keep following him we'll get to do all kinds of fun, twisted things! His name alone will strike fear in the hearts of everyone before long, PoH."

* * *

 **That ends Chapter 10. This was done decently quickly (by my standards) considering its length, so I'll most likely be able to write 2 more chapters in November. As far as the story goes, we get our introduction to the Moonlit Black Cats and to PoH. The Moonlit Black Cats will be pretty heavily involved next chapter which should be pretty apparent after the ending to this one. I'm having PoH be involved a lot more early on than in Canon, but that's because I think his involvement will make for an interesting story which has been planned out fairly extensively by this point. One difficulty I am having in writing this story is trying to balance between interactions with Pokemon and people. I've been trying to give individual Pokemon their own personalities to an extent which is easy enough when the trainers are on their own, but it becomes more difficult when the character is in a group with other people. I'll probably focus mostly on human interaction in the next chapter as the Moonlit Black Cats are important for Kirito and the plot will be starting to move more quickly. As always, feel free to message or comment. I'd especially like to know any thoughts on Pokemon names. There really aren't many good sites for Pokemon names online (if there are any in the first place) so the names might be a bit silly but hopefully it doesn't detract from the rest of the story.**

 **Since it was mentioned in a review, I thought I'd explain a bit about Roost since it has an uncommon property. When a Pokemon uses Roost, it loses its Flying-type status until the end of the turn in which it occurred. As a result, a Pokemon like Pidgeotto that is Normal and Flying type would become a Normal type while using Roost and would only be hit for super effective damage by Fighting-type moves. Hope that clears up any confusion since I didn't think to explain it during the chapter when I first wrote it.**


	11. Chapter 11

Kirito watched lazily from a nearby tree as Tetsuo switched in for Keita and slammed his mace into the wild Scyther, knocking it back and temporarily stunning it. He had been working with and mentoring the Moonlit Black Cats for the past 3 days since the raid boss battle and they were steadily improving. While they'd mostly figured out the basics of fighting before he met them, their teamwork certainly needed work, and Kirito had taken it upon himself to make sure they improved. Despite being a solo player, he'd fought in enough boss battles in the beta to understand the importance of working as a team. The exception to the rule was Sachi, who still needed work on her swordsmanship.

 _She's still staying in the back even though they're fighting a weak mob. While she still needs a bit of work on her fighting technique, what she really lacks is confidence. I'll get up in a minute to go help again… actually, I could probably wait a few minutes. This tree is surprisingly comfy and I could use a nap._ Kirito yawned while closing his eyes momentarily. He wasn't one to relax outside of a safe zone normally, but they were in a relatively low-level area and his Pokémon would alert him if anything happened. It seemed as though his late-night leveling trips were starting to take a toll on him, but fighting with the Moonlit Black Cats during the day hardly got him any XP.

Sighing contentedly, Kirito leaned back in the grass and then kicked his legs upwards, using his momentum to launch himself to his feet. _I wish I could do that in real life, I'm not entirely sure it's possible using just your legs but I should get some special training from Sugu either way. My body will probably be even more out of shape than it already is if I ever do make it back after all. I hope she's not worrying about me too much._

Walking back towards the group, he observed Ducker's Farfetch'd distracting a Teddiursa with its stick while the boy himself snuck behind it. Sasamaru and Tetsuo seemed to be engaged with a group of Beedrill and Keita was helping Sachi take on a Pidgey which she seemed to be having trouble with.

The Pidgey lunged forward and Sachi flinched but managed to hold her shield out and block its Tackle. Without looking out from behind the shield, she swung her sword towards the Pidgey but was too late to hit it. Fortunately, a Boomerang from her Cubone slammed into its side and moments later slammed into the other side before returning to Cubone. The ground-type move lost 50% of its effectiveness against flying types in this game but still did significant damage nonetheless.

"Great job Gaara. Aiieehh!"

A second Pidgey had lunged at the complacent Sachi, and in her surprise, she was too slow to block its Quick Attack. A chunk of her health was chipped off but Sachi recovered and stabbed forward with her sword as though it were a stick. The attack hit the wild Pidgey but did very little damage to it, and it hopped backwards to gain some distance.

It hadn't expected an attack from a different angle though, and the 2-hit sword skill landed for a critical hit, bursting the Pidgey into shards. This was mirrored a few feet away, where a Takedown attack from a Gible destroyed the Pidgey previously weakened by Cubone.

Sheathing his sword, Keita walked over towards Sachi and took a deep breath. "Sachi, I know you're trying your best, but you need to improve. You're not using a spear anymore. You need to get it in your head that you have to use the right sword skills to attack and use the shield to block. Otherwise you're putting us all in danger since we can't look after you 24/7, okay? I'm not saying this to be mean to you, if this wasn't a life and death situation I wouldn't even mention it, but our lives are on the line too."

Sachi nodded and looked down at the ground. "I.. I know I need to get better. I'm sorry for holding you guys back, I'll try to get better faster."

"Hey, cheer up Sachi! Don't listen to Keita, he's just salty since he has to share a room with me now," Ducker said while winking at her. "I think you're improving just fine, keep it up."

"Yeah, you're doing great Sachi, you'll be better than us in no time!"

"Thanks Ducker, Tetsuo, but Keita is right. Don't worry, I'll work on it."

"Hey, how about we head back now, it's almost time for dinner and I'm starving. I've never eaten reptile but that Treecko is starting to look enticing."

"Hey, get your grubby hands away from my Pokémon."

"Don't worry don't worry, I wouldn't hurt Treecko, he's a far more valuable part of the team than you are Tetsuo."

"Take that back Sasamaru, you're the one getting carried by your Roggenrola."

The boys began laughing as they started walking back to town. Even Sachi seemed to be in higher spirits and was having a conversation with Ducker. _They sure do get along really well, I thought for sure they'd be arguing for a while after that but it's like they've already forgotten it. I wonder if I'll ever have a friend group like that. I'll probably have trouble making friends with girls but I'm okay at talking to guys at least._

* * *

"Maybe you were too hard on her."

"I know that Sasamaru, I feel bad enough about it already. As soon as I see her I'll apologize, I should have said something during dinner but wanted to apologize in private."

"Do you think we should let her use the spear again instead? Even if she stays in the back she can still be useful."

"You have to understand, I'm looking out for her. I don't want anything happening to Sachi and we aren't strong enough to protect her from everything. In the long run, using a sword and shield will keep her alive even if I have to push her a bit extra now. If something gets close enough that she can't effectively use her spear then she'll be basically defenseless."

Tetsuo nodded at the response. "I see what you mean, seems like the only thing to do is to go find her. Any ideas where she might be?"

"No idea, she's not answering my messages. Maybe she's training on her own?"

"Shit, we should all split up and look for her."

"Hey, what about whoever finds her gets a free dessert of their choosing?" Ducker said with a mischievous smile.

"This isn't a joking matter. She could be in real trouble."

"What's wrong with adding an extra incentive to find her though? It's not like it's going to make us search slower and we're all searching on our own anyways."

"Fair enough, alright whoever finds her gets a free dessert. Kirito, I hate to ask you to do this but could you keep an eye on the inn in case she gets back before us? Message us if she shows up."

"Yeah, no problem guys."

"Thanks, alright let's go."

With that, the group split up and began running towards the different paths leading out of the town. Kirito thought about staying in the inn but decided against it. He might be in a virtual world, but the weather parameters were nearly perfect at the moment and he couldn't pass up a quick walk. _Besides, my Pokémon could use a walk anyways. I didn't do much fighting today so they could use some exercise._

{Don't use us as an excuse to disobey a request Master.}

{I'm not really going far from the inn, besides, what if Sachi is somewhere in the safe zone?}

{Screw that, let's go to the front lines and kick some Pokébutt. I haven't gotten my dose of fighting in today.}

{Do you think of nothing but fighting? His friend could be in grave peril right now and you just want to ignore that. Fortunately, the wise Guru Kirito will use his dark, mysterious powers to lead us to her.}

{Um, I'm not so sure about that Estelle. I'm not actually psychic you know? It's pretty unlikely I'll find her. I'll turn on my tracking skill but unless she walked this way in the last 30 minutes…}

As luck would have it, Kirito's dark, mysterious powers illuminated a set of footprints leading towards the edge of the safe zone where a creek was.

A few minutes later, he was led to what appeared to be a small carving in the hill with space for 4 or 5 people. Sitting in the dugout of sorts was Sachi, who was staring sadly at the creek while the Cubone at her side tried to comfort her. Crouching down and climbing inside, Kirito sat down a few feet away from her and stayed silent.

No one said a word for a few minutes until Sachi broke the silence.

"How do you do it?"

"Um, what do you mean? Do what?"

"You know, how do you play as a solo player knowing you could die at any time? Even you must get scared sometimes. What made you leave the safe zone and fight?"

Kirito idly stretched his legs out and let his eyes wander. The sun had already set and the nocturnal Pokémon would surely start coming out soon. The serene sound of the creek gurgling and the feel of the cool Fall breeze nearly made him forget that he should be out leveling right now. Evidently, his Pokémon were thinking the same thing and had curled up next to him to sleep. Pondering what he should reply to the girl sitting next to him to make her feel better, he decided to tell the truth.

"Honestly, I'm scared every single day. I try to only fight when I'm sure to win, but there's no guarantee that I won't run into something unexpected and die anyways. Its surreal knowing that my life could end in here due to being killed by a virtual animal. In a way, I'm just as scared of the people in the game. It might sound petty, but I'm worried about falling behind in levels and being at the mercy of someone else. At the end of the day though, the main reason I left the safe zone is because I have people in the real world waiting for me."

"I.. I feel that way too, but I feel like I'm no help at all. What point is there to me coming out of the safe zone if I'm not helping the clearers? I can barely fight, I get freaked out too easily, and I'm holding back my group from progressing. If not for my friends, I probably would have never left the Town of Beginnings in the first place. I… I'm just a coward," Sachi said with her arms wrapped around her knees and her eyes downcast looking at the ground. A single tear slid down her cheek and she didn't bother to wipe it away.

Kirito began to reach his hand out but hesitated and brought it back halfway. If it had been his sister he would have known how to comfort her, but patting a girl older than he was on the head seemed like a bad idea. Cursing his low social attribute, he compromised and scooted a little bit closer to Sachi before patting her softly on the back. _The feel of her back has the same heat and texture as it does in the real world, come to think of it this might be the first time I've touched someone in the game aside from a handshake. It's kind of nice._

Shaking his head quickly to clear his mind, Kirito opened his mouth to speak. "You're not a coward at all. Hell, you're probably one of the bravest girls I've ever met. Not many people had the courage to leave the safe zone in the first place, and to keep facing your fears head-on every day is nothing short of inspiring. You owe it to your friends to keep it up and to keep surviving. I talked to Keita and he felt awful about what he said and wanted to apologize. They're all out looking for you right now you know. They were worried you might be off training on your own." Kirito decided not to mention the desert bet out of common courtesy.

Sachi sniffled and wiped her cheek. Looking towards Kirito, she did her best to give him a cheery smile. "You're right Kirito, thanks. There's no use in me moping like this. It's too late to stay in the safe zone now; I'll do my best to keep fighting and help my friends." Wiping her eyes once more with her sleeve, Sachi began to speak again. "One more thing, who are you fighting for on the outside? You must have friends in the real world or a girlfriend."

Kirito's face turned a bright red and he quickly took his hand off her back and scooted a few feet away. He wasn't sure what to do with his hand and awkwardly put it behind his head while giving off a nervous smile which must have looked ridiculous. In his head, he heard the sound of snickers. {Master? A girlfriend? Hee hee hee that's the best joke I've heard in my life!}

{I don't want to hear it Kiriko.}

Realizing that he still hadn't actually said anything, Kirito opened his mouth, but it took a few seconds of mumbling before something coherent came out. "I'm, um, I'm… this might be a bit surprising since I'm a solo player but I actually don't have that many friends IRL." {Surprising? More like obvious.}

{Shut up it was a joke.}

"I have some at school and I'm pretty close with my sister but I'm kind of a loner, which is probably the reason I got stuck in this game in the first place. I've never had a girlfriend either."

Sachi smiled at him before saying, "I see. In a selfish way, I got lucky that most of my friends got stuck in here with me, but I wish they hadn't been. I hope they can all make it home someday even if I don't."

"Don't worry Sachi, I'll make sure you guys all make it out okay. I'm looking out for you, I promise."

"Thanks Kirito, that really means a lot to me. I'm glad I got to meet you."

They continued talking for a while before messaging the rest of the group and heading back to the inn. After a delicious free cake, Kirito headed to bed earlier than usual.

* * *

 _It's amazing what a change in attitude can do for you,_ Kirito thought to himself as he watched Sachi fight. He knew without a doubt that she was still scared, but ever since he'd found her by the creek 2 days ago she'd been training nonstop. Her swordsmanship was noticeably improving as a result, which was evident as her sword skill crit the Budew she was fighting and removed the last of its health points. Standing up and running a hand through her hair, she noticed Kirito watching her and gave him a pleasant smile.

 _It's not just Sachi though, all of the Black Cats have been getting better. At this pace, they could reach the levels of some of the weaker clearers in another two weeks. Even if I can't help out with the raid bosses anymore, I'd feel a lot better with Keita and them on the front lines. Their attitude towards clearing the game instead of competing with one another might just rub off on the others._

Gaining experience fighting mobs wasn't the only reason they were heading back to Rustboro though. As they exited the woods and approached the bridge leading to the town, the group began to talk about their plans for the rest of the day.

"I think I'm ready to take on the Rustboro Gym, Treecko has a type advantage against rock types and my mace does well against slower Pokémon. From what Kirito has said about the boss fight it should be manageable for me."

"You too Tetsuo? All right, then that'll make two of us getting our first badge here today."

"Be careful Keita, your Gible might take less damage from Rock-type attacks but you won't."

"Don't worry about it, me and Nibble are both prepared for this. He's all ready to take a big GarChomp out of the other Pokémon!"

This elicited several groans from the rest of the group.

"I don't think your stand-up career will ever take off."

"Hey I could make a great comedian someday, look at what a joke my guildmembers are. I'm kidding I'm kidding, but seriously, Kirito was able to beat this gym pretty easily with no Pokémon super effective against rock types, and I reckon I should be at a higher level now than he was when he beat it."

Kirito was rather skeptical about this deduction but he didn't want to admit he'd lied about his level. _Besides, this gym really isn't too bad. At their levels they should still be able to beat this gym leader comfortably._

"Yeah but Kirito has experience fighting solo and he had 3 Pokémon at the time, you've only got one."

"It'll be fine, if we're ever going to make it to the front lines we have to start fighting gym battles eventually. Get some good training in today guys, we'll go to a bug-type gym next where Sasamaru and Ducker can get their first badges."

"Roger that captain."

Keita eyed Ducker's salute with suspicion but eventually sighed and nodded his head. "You've got a point though, we really should think about adding another Pokémon to our parties. We need to get used to fighting with multiple Pokémon as soon as possible, it's a major advantage."

The group said a round of good byes and then split up as they approached the gym. Kirito, Sachi, Ducker, and Sasamaru headed towards the wild grass area near Rusturf tunnel where they could find more wild-Pokémon to fight.

"I think I'm going to try to catch a Flying-type for my next Pokémon. That would cover my Roggenrola's Grass and Fighting weaknesses although Water and Steel are still…"

As the group talked while walking into the grass, Kirito spotted something that caught his attention. At the end of the grassy area approaching the rocky cave, he could see a group of 3-4 people wearing all red clothing with red hoods and what looked to be a black 'M' symbol on their chests. It undoubtedly had to be Team Magma, but what could they possibly be doing here? As he watched, the Team Magma members stopped talking to one another and entered the cave.

Startled, Kirito quickly opened up his menu and sent a quick message to Argo letting her know that Team Magma members had entered Rusturf Tunnel and he was going to follow them. Ignoring the 'Lolwut, r u srs?' he got back almost instantly, he began running towards the tunnel. Sachi was the first to notice and called out to him.

"Kirito, where are you going?"

"Oh um, I'm sorry, something came up. Just keep training like usual, I'll be back."

Rushing through the brush, he thought to himself about what this could mean. _The Team Magma members never came through this area in the games, I'm sure of it. I doubt there are normally Team Magma members just wandering around so I should definitely check it out. Maybe the campaign is time dependent in POW._

Rushing into the cave, he found no one. The rocks in the center to preventing people from passing through seemed to still be there and he could spot some shuffling in the shadows that was most likely a Whismur, but nothing else. {Master, if Rock Smash was used then the rock may have already respawned to prevent people without Rock Smash from passing.}

{Good thinking.}

Kirito didn't waste time instructing one of his Pokémon to use the move for him, but instead wound up his fist as though he were going to use a Sword Skill. A red glow coming from his left hand illuminated the cave as he smashed his fist into the rock, breaking it into pieces. Running forward and then to the right, he came to the exit of the cave.

Upon exiting the tunnel, Kirito put his hand in front of his eyes to shield them from the sun and scanned his surroundings. He was now in Verdanturf Town and he could hear the excited sounds of people entering a large tent on his right. Looking around he saw no sign of the Team Magma members. Assuming they weren't in a store or house, there were only two place they could have gone. Deciding to check the Battle Tent first, Kirito walked briskly towards it.

The tent was extremely large and decked out in red, white, and blue colors. The festive look contributed to the jubilant atmosphere of the people entering the tent looking forward to watching battles. Walking in, Kirito was approached by a woman who would no doubt explain the purpose of the tent, but he waved her away and began searching. His Pokémon searched the tent as well, but by the time they reconvened, none of them had found any success. {Guru Kirito was wrong? The spirit world is quite fickle indeed.}

Kirito sighed and opened up his menu once more, he had clearly chosen the wrong direction. _I don't know why I thought they'd come to a Battle Tent in the first place. Although a Battle Tent does seem like a good place to steal Pokémon._ He had gotten two more messages from Argo in the meantime warning him to be careful and to message her anything he found out. Planning out how he wanted to reply, he began composing a message.

'Lost track of them, not sure where they went or why. Not a big deal or anything but I'd like to figure out where they were going at least, any ideas?'

Not 15 seconds later he had already received a reply. 'Won't charge since just speculation, but in the games didn't they go to Meteor Falls?'

'Argo you're a genius, I'll go check it out.'

'Yeah I know I am, as thanks for the tip let me know what you find out. If you want to take on Mauville Gym on the way I've got all the juicy deets on the changes.'

'Good to know, I'll message you if I decide to take it on when I'm coming back.'

Closing his menu, Kirito began heading east towards Route 117.

* * *

Kirito had made it to Meteor Falls in decent time. Fortunately, it was easier to avoid the NPC trainers in this game than it was in the original Pokémon games, but there were some trainer fights and wild Pokémon that he was inevitably unable to avoid. He was still at a high enough level to not be at risk of dying from full HP but he needed to make sure to heal up after every battle. _I better make sure to stock up on potions and status items tomorrow._

Hurrying through the canyon that had apparently been formed when a meteor crashed into it in the past, he came to the entrance and made his way inside. When he first walked in, he stopped for a second to admire the scenery. The inside of the cavern was host to stalactites and stalagmites of a variety of sizes and colors, and further inside was a wooden bridge above a pool of water. The pool was filled by a stream of water flowing down the side of the cave while further down the water trickled steadily underground from the pool.

Upon crossing the bridge, Kirito found a man in a white lab coat and glasses tied up with rope and jammed against the wall. He quickly removed the strap around the NPC's mouth that was acting as a gag and asked him what had happened.

"Thank you for helping me, these thugs from an organization called Team Magma or something interrupted me in the middle of my research. They asked me a few questions about the meteorite I was working on, but when I wouldn't give it to them they tied me up and stole the rock! I think one of them mentioned they were going to Mt. Chimney with it. I was worried I would die in here to tell you the tru- Wait! Where are you going? Don't leave me here!"

Kirito didn't have any time to waste on freeing the scientist completely. He vowed to come back later, but for now, he had to hurry to Mt. Chimney. _I'm not sure if the game would allow them to summon Groudon or not this early on, but I don't want to take any chances when lives are on the line. At the least, I've seen firsthand that the environment can be changed drastically in the beta. If that volcano explodes then there could be consequences on the rest of the game._

He rushed to Route 112, and upon reaching the mountain, he rode a cable car up most of it. Making his way to the very top, he encountered what appeared to be 4-5 Team Magma Grunts.

"Scram kid, we're here on official Team Magma business. If you don't wanna die I'd suggest you go right back down the mountain."

Kirito ignored what the Grunt was saying and aimed his eyesight towards the far-left side of the mountain where an odd metallic contraption stood. He didn't see any signs of the magma rising or of the Team Magma leader. "Good, I made it in time," he muttered to himself.

"What's that punk? You got a death wish or something?"

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't. Where's your boss?"

"The boss is on the way, but we'll take care of you before he gets here."

The Team Magma Grunts approached and each of them let a single Pokémon out to fight with them as well. There appeared to be two Zubats, two Poochyenas, and a Numel. Grabbing his sword, Kirito prepared for battle.

* * *

The three men approached the apparatus they would use to awaken the legendary Ground-type Pokémon. They hoped to trigger a volcanic eruption that would end its slumber beneath the mountain. After awakening the Pokémon, they planned to capture it and use its immense power to increase the landmass of the Earth, enabling them to claim new territory for themselves in the process. Their plan had gone better than expected ever since the cloaked man had told them of the meteorite's existence. Team Aqua hadn't interfered with their plans in the slightest, in fact, they hadn't seen a Team Aqua member in days which was rather rare.

The leader of the group, who was holding the alien rock in his hands, decided to have his men research Team Aqua's movements following the success of this mission. It would be disastrous if they awakened the other primordial beast. Something felt wrong to him though, looking around, he finally realized the issue. The grunts that had been positioned around the perimeter of the volcano were nowhere to be seen. It was as though they had all disappeared. Could Team Aqua have interfered after all? At this point, he finally noticed the slim figure dressed in all black leaning against the contraption they had come to use.

Kirito swallowed as he watched the three men approach him. He had managed to defeat all of his enemies without losing any of his Pokémon, but he had been forced to use a number of potions and antidotes to recover his health after the battle. The enemies approaching him were sure to be on a different level, and with more Pokémon between them. Could he defeat all 3 of them at once? He wasn't confident he would be victorious, but it was too late to contact the Assault Team now. _As if they would come anyways, 90% of the clearers hate my guts._

"What happened to the grunts that were positioned in this area?" questioned the man in the center as he walked forward. The man had scarlet red hair and wore a black and red robe. He was undoubtedly the leader of Team Magma.

"I apologize, they would not permit me to pass so I was forced to dispose of them."

"How dare you interfere with Team Mag-"

"Now now Tabitha, they were simply grunts. We can easily recruit more of them. What I'm interested to hear is what your motive is, boy," the man said with a smirk, putting extra emphasis on the last word.

"I've come to stop you from using that meteorite, the destructive power of the Pokémon you're trying to awaken is far more dangerous than you realize."

 _Is there any point to this? There's no way I'd be able to convince them to change their mind. Maybe I should just engage them in battle now before they can plan anything._ Fortunately, Kirito did not decide to take the offensive.

"That little punk, I bet he's working for Team Aqua. Let's take him down, no way he can take us all on at once."

"Take us all on at once? Do you mean to imply that I can't defeat him in battle on my own?"

"Of.. of course not Leader Maxie. As a Team Magma Admin, I was only thinking only of what was most efficient for the team. If he were to bring in reinforcements from Team Aqua then we could be in trouble."

"I hardly think he's a Team Aqua member, I've yet to see an Aqua member not wearing blue, and if he wanted to bring reinforcements then he would no doubt have brought them before engaging our grunts. I will confirm however. Boy, are you a member of Team Aqua? If you lie to me, I will show you no mercy." The man's eyes glimmered a fierce red color and Kirito couldn't help but slightly shiver. Just because Team Magma wasn't particularly scary in the Pokémon games didn't mean Maxie wasn't imposing in person. He gave off the aura of a trainer extremely confident in his skills.

"I swear I'm not a Team Aqua member, I'm just a concerned citizen." _Probably better not to call myself a hero for fun, there's no way he'd get the reference._

"Very well, I will take you on in one on one combat," he said while removing his jacket and equipping a slender blade with particularly sharp edges. It looked as though it could remove his head from his body with a single slice. "If you can defeat me I'll give up the meteorite. If I can't defeat a small child, then I have no business confronting Groudon. I will use my Pokémon as well of course." From his arm, a burst of red and white erupted into three blobs of light, which began to take on the distinct shapes of a Golbat, a Camerupt, and a Mightyena.

Kirito stayed stoic on the outside, but he was smiling internally. _Perfect, I can definitely take him one on one. His Pokémon might have a bit of a level advantage but I can handle that. Also, my Pokémon won't be affected by Intimidate since I called them out second. Let's go._

Calling out his team, Kirito began to call out instructions in his mind. {Chardcore, focus on the Mightyena. You're the only one who does neutral damage to it so keep it away from Estelle. Estelle stay in the back and try to nail Golbat with a Psybeam, it's probably around the same level as you but 2-3 of those will take it out. That means Camerupt is in your hands Kiriko. Try to fight off to the side so you can dodge attacks and maintain your illusion.}

He didn't have to give any more instructions for his Zorua. Knowing what the enemy's likely Pokémon were before the fight had proved helpful, and she had exited the Pokélink in the form of a Sneasel as planned. Sneasel was a Dark and Ice-type Pokémon that could be taught Dark Pulse. Its typing would discourage attacks from Mightyena and Golbat, allowing his Charmeleon to be relatively safe from powerful Ground-type attacks from Camerupt. It also wouldn't draw attention by using Dark Pulse or by dodging attacks with its quick movements.

His Pokémon formed a triangular formation with Gothita at the back and prepared to engage the enemy. Kirito cast a wary gaze towards the other two Team Magma members but they appeared to really be sitting out the battle. _I doubt they'd be allowed to disobey a direct order but I should still be careful if I get close to them._ He didn't have any more time to strategize as Maxie rushed towards him with far more speed than he'd expected from the middle-aged man.

Maxie went in with three swift strikes of his sword, not yet committing to sword skills. Kirito managed to parry them but was forced backwards. His sword was heavier and it took him longer to recover from each blow than it did for his opponent. He couldn't manage to get on the offensive as a result, as each time he brought his sword back to position he was forced to meet another attack.

As he searched for an opening in his opponent's maneuvers, he could see what was happening to his Pokémon through their own eyesight in the form of 3 circular monitors in his mind. Zorua was performing admirably as expected and had managed to not take any damage while landing a Dark Pulse. His other two Pokémon were in trouble though. With Gothita staying in the back, the Mightyena was free to attack his Charmeleon at the same time as the Golbat. Chardcore had already taken meaningful chip damage without landing an attack of its own.

As Kirito watched, the Mightyena lunged towards the Flame Pokémon, but its eyes were keenly focused on Estelle instead who was preparing to launch an attack towards the Golbat. {It's a feint, Estelle, use Tickle on the Mightyena and then Pound.}

As he'd expected, the Mightyena attempted to Sucker Punch his Gothita. The attack failed as it was instead met by the ticklish fingers of his Gothita, lowering the Mightyena's Attack and Defense stats. The Pound attack that followed however, did damage that was nearly negligible considering the drop in Defense, and left the enemy Pokémon within striking range. Kirito's fears were confirmed when moments later a powerful Crunch attack still managed to drop Estelle's health by 40% while the retaliatory Psybeam did maybe 10% in return.

 _His plan is probably to keep me engaged with his sword while his Pokémon defeat mine. They are all at high levels while mine are mostly unevolved. His Camerupt is too slow to win a 1v1 though so this battle has gone mostly even so far._ As though reading his mind, Maxie took advantage of a lull in their swordfight to glance quickly towards his Camerupt. It had been hit with at least two Dark Pulses and had lost 45% health without inflicting any damage of its own. "Ah, I see."

He immediately went back on the offensive against Kirito, slamming his sword down in apparent rage and aiming directly at the neck. Kirito parried the blade and the two rapid attacks that came after it in quick succession. Remembering to watch his Pokémon as well, Kirito saw another Dark Pulse slam into the Camerupt which seemed to be facing the wrong direction. Had Kiriko managed to confuse it with its speed? No…

{Chardcore, get out of there now!}

Charmeleon was in no position to move however, it was in the middle of using a Fire Fang attack on the enemy Golbat and had no way to leap away with its teeth sunk into the bat-like Pokémon. Less than a second later, a powerful Earth Power rumbled beneath Chardcore and knocked it down, removing nearly 60% of its health in the process. Kiriko managed to land a Pursuit to knock the Camerupt to around a fourth of its HP but the damage was done, and Gothita was still locked in a losing battle with Mightyena.

"Hahaha, clever boy, I'll admit it. There's no reason I can't just save your Zorua for last though," Maxie said with a smug grin on his face.

 _No way, he realized it was a Zorua just based on how much damage Dark Pulse was doing? Shit, I'll lose this battle and die if I don't do something. Being locked in a sword battle is disadvantageous for me right now._

Maxie seemed to have no intent of letting Kirito out of his clutches however and reengaged him with another slash of his sword. _I'll have to take some damage now to have any chance at winning this battle._ Rather than parry the attack, he let the sword slice into his chest while at the same time activating a Sword Skill. The attack took Maxie off guard, who clearly hadn't expected his opponent to take the attack with his body, and Kirito's two-hit sword skill sliced cleanly down Maxie's midsection while knocking him back in the process.

Not wasting any time, Kirito dashed towards the opposing Pokémon nearest him, which happened to be Camerupt, and attacked it with a Vertical Square. The Camerupt had been attempting to dodge a projectile from his Zorua and had no time to react to Kirito's sword skill. {Kiriko, use Pursuit on the Golbat. Estelle, avoid that Crunch attack at all costs.} The final downward slash of his skill drained the Camerupt's remaining HP, but he didn't have time to watch its death animation.

Turning around, Kirito saw his Gothita dodge the Mightyena's attack just barely, only for a sharp sword to slice into its body and knock it back several feet onto the ground. He visibly flinched and had to stop himself from closing his eyes. The HP bar fell rapidly and Kirito was sure nothing would remain of his Pokémon but shards of light in a few moments, but miraculously its health gauge stopped falling with what couldn't be more than single digit health remaining. Thinking quickly, Kirito held out his arm and recalled his Gothita to his party. It wouldn't be able to serve as more than a tiny distraction in this battle now, and it was unlikely to change the outcome if things went awry.

 _Okay 3v3, I need to eliminate at least one more of his Pokémon before I try to whittle him down._ It seemed that Maxie had the same idea however. As Zorua and Mightyena faced off against one another, a combination of Ember and Horizontal Arc eliminated the Zubat. The Charmeleon was unable to recover from its attack in time to evade Maxie's blade, and its HP fell deep into the red, forcing Kirito to recall it as well.

{You fought well Chardcore. It's up to me and you now Kiriko. Let's end this.}

Circling around one another, Kirito faced off against Maxie while Zorua and Mightyena circled one another as well. The health advantage was certainly on his team's side, but the battle was resting on a knife-edge. {If we can isolate him then this battle is pretty much over. Mightyena is low so I'll take it out while you tank an attack and land a Dark Pulse on Maxie. On my signal.}

As Kirito maneuvered himself into position, his eyes caught Maxie's own. There was a gleam in his eyes and he appeared to be… smiling? Not letting himself get psyched out by his opponent, Kirito gave the signal. {Now!}

Leaping away from Maxie and towards the Mightyena, Kirito was surprised to find the black Pokémon rushing forwards to meet him as well. Unable to stop his attack, the Sucker Punch hit him directly in the stomach and took off a good 20% chunk of his health. His sword was unhindered however, and continued onwards through the Mightyena's stomach, leaving only prismatic light in its wake as the Mightyena's health bar was drained of all color.

{Master, look out!}

Kirito had no chance whatsoever to dodge any incoming attack though. He had been read like a book, apparently higher-leveled NPC's wouldn't fall for the same trick multiple times. Maxie's sharp sword sliced directly through his left arm near the shoulder, severing it from his body completely. As his Zorua's Dark Pulse crashed into the Team Magma Leader in response. Kirito watched, dumbstruck, as his arm fell to the floor and bounced once before disintegrating into dust.

He had lost his arm before in the beta, but losing it here in the death game had a sense of finality to it that he hadn't experienced before. _My.. my arm. It's not gone for good is it? It.. it'll grow back I think. It should at least._

What thankfully dragged Kirito out of his stupor was his health bar turning red as nearly 50% of his health was taken by the critical strike. The brilliant red color brought him back to his senses just in time to bring his sword up and block an attack that would have surely ended his life. With only one hand though, he had lost his sense of balance and was pressed backwards. Maxie was giving off a devilish aura as he put his other hand on the blade and attempted to push it downwards to break Kirito's guard. With no way to balance himself or to push back the sharp edge approaching his body, Kirito began to wonder if he was truly about to die.

{Get away from my Master you shitty excuse for a Trainer.} The shape of a Zorua flying forward into Maxie's face with a strong Tackle filled Kirito's vision. The critical hit took another chunk out of the older man's health bar and pushed him back from his opponent, saving Kirito's life.

Shaking himself mentally and instantly leaping back into position to capitalize on the advantageous situation, Kirito readied his sword and angled himself to where Maxie would have to get through Kiriko to get to him. {Thanks, you saved my ass again. I'll spoil you if we get out of this alive.}

{Praise me more Master, but after the battle.}

Maxie had recovered from the blow to the head and got back into position as well, but as though he had seen the resolution written across Kirito's face, he sheathed his sword and held his hands up in the air. "Very well, I concede defeat. I'm a man of my word and I don't break a promise easily, I will give you the meteorite and my subordinates will not attack you. However, if you dare to cross Team Magma again, then we will use any methods necessary to defeat you. Consider yourself warned."

Removing the rock from his pocket, the man in red and black attire casually tossed the meteorite to Kirito, who was forced to let it hit him in the chest and watch as it fell to the ground before struggling to grab it with two fingers of his sword hand. The remaining Team Magma members snickered but quickly remembered the situation.

"Maxie, is this really alright? This may be our best chance to-"

"Shh, silence. We have more reliable methods available to us. This was never guaranteed to work in the first place. If we can locate the orb…"

Kirito heard no more as the Team Magma members walked out of his range of hearing. He finally relaxed his shoulders and loosened his tight grip on his sword. In truth, he had no idea how he'd survived. That battle could have very easily gone the other way, and he was lucky to be alive right now.

Kirito attempted to swing his left arm up to open his menu only to remember that it was no longer there after beginning the motion. "Ouch," Kirito muttered to himself as he felt a faint pain where his arm should have been located. He remembered experiencing this before in the beta but the pain hadn't felt as distinct, and after not experiencing any pain whatsoever since he entered the game, the slightest of pangs was discomforting. Preparing himself for a long journey, he started to walk back down the volcano.

* * *

It had taken him longer than expected, but Kirito had finally made it back to his room. Walking with a sword in one hand had certainly elongated his walk back, but he didn't want to risk being unable to take his sword out of the sheath if a surprise attack took him off guard. Not having an arm affected his balance and he couldn't access his inventory to heal his Pokémon until he could access a PC at a Pokécenter. In the beta, his limbs had been chopped off a few times as well. In fact, he remembered personally letting them be cut off to see what it was like. At the time it had been worth a few laughs and he had killed himself right after to respawn with his limbs, but now he could only wait the 10 or so hours it would take for it to come back. He had thought about messaging Argo to ask how long it would take, but he knew how worried she would be if he started asking questions about missing limbs.

"Ahh, damn," Kirito said as he instinctively tried to open his inventory with his left hand to remove his gear. There wasn't traditional pain in this game, but he felt a distinct feeling of discomfort when trying to use his missing left hand. He remembered reading an article about phantom limb pain in the real world but he hadn't expected it to apply here. It was possible that due to the lack of responsiveness in his left arm in the game, his nerves were sending pain signals to indicate that there was something wrong.

Sighing, Kirito laid down on the bed and used his left foot to mimic the motions on his right arm necessary to open the menu. After successfully removing his gear and most of his clothes, Kirito laid down under the covers and got ready to fall asleep. He would do anything else that needed doing tomorrow when he wasn't exhausted. Before he could pass out though, he heard a soft knocking sound on his door. Wondering who it could be, he went to the door and opened it slightly only to come face to face with Sachi. She was wearing pajamas and was holding a pillow against her chest with both hands.

Kirito's heart fluttered for a second before realizing the state he was in. _Uh oh, I can't let her see me like this._

"Um, I was wondering if I could sleep with you tonight Kirito, I'm having trouble falling asleep and I thought I might be able to with you."

Luckily, the light was already off so Kirito decided on a plan of action. "Yeah.. that's no problem. Come right on in." With that, Kirito ran and jumped into his bed like a little kid before Sachi could open the door up all the way, and quickly burrowed into the covers. It was easier to do with two hands but he was pretty sure he had managed it, even if he looked ridiculous in the process.

 _Oh shit, I'm on the far side of the bed. That means if I sleep facing the window then my top arm will be missing, but if I turn the other way then I'll be facing Sachi. Should I try to face her? No, that's too awkward. I mean, this is awkward enough already but I couldn't fall asleep facing her. I doubt she'll notice anyways._

Next to him, he could feel the rustle of the covers and the creak of the bed as Sachi slid in beside him. Maybe, she wouldn't bother talking to him and would just fall asleep. That thought lasted less than 2 seconds however, as Kirito felt a gentle touch on his shoulder, she had certainly noticed.

"Kirito… what happened to your arm?"

"Ah, funny story actually, well not really. I was trying to get in some extra leveling with higher leveled mobs and I was careless. An NPC trainer managed to cut off my arm. Luckily it was just my left arm so I was still able to win the fight and make it back. I'll be more cautious from now on..."

"I didn't think solo players like yourself were the careless type."

Kirito swallowed loudly, while he hadn't outright lied, he wasn't telling the whole truth. _Can she really tell? I thought that was a good coverup. I don't want to lie to her but it's for her own good, the Moonlit Black Cats definitely aren't ready for that kind of fight yet._ Whatever the case, it seemed that Sachi had seen right through his lie, after a few moments of silence, she began to speak.

"You know, my original Pokémon wasn't a Cubone, it was a Plusle. I think our original Pokémon may have been given personalities similar to our own you see. Back in the real world, I wasn't nearly this scared all the time. I was a bit shy, but I was always happy just being with my friends. When I first came to this world I was happy too. Me and Plusle were ready to explore this world; he wanted to find a Minun. He said it was to balance out our team since we were too positive but he probably just wanted to find love like…"

Sachi trailed off for a bit and stayed quiet, but quickly continued her story after. "An-anyways once the game started I was too scared to leave the safe zone. Plusle understood how I felt, but I could tell he didn't want to be all cooped up. He never once complained or tried to convince me to leave though. In fact, he did everything he could to help me out while I was wallowing in negative emotions. I was in a really bad spot but he always cheered me up. My friends gradually worked up the courage to start leveling up before I did. Even so, they would come back to the Town of Beginnings every time afterwards just to see me when staying in a different town would have been way more convenient for them. I started to feel sick about holding them back, so one day while they were gone I decided to go out of the safe zone. Plusle promised to protect me, but the first wild Pokémon I met was in a group of 3. I lost it completely, I was too scared to move, I-I knew I was about to die. Plusle wasn't scared though and took them all on at once. If I had just helped out a bit then we would have definitely both survived. Luckily, my friends were leveling nearby still and heard the fight just in time to save me, but they were too late to save Plusle too. It was completely my fault he died. Pathetic, isn't it?"

Kirito heard the sounds of sniffling behind him and turned around to check on Sachi but she had turned away from him so he couldn't see her tears. Unsure of what to do, Kirito turned the rest of his body over and put his one remaining good arm around Sachi. _She's bearing her soul to me when all I've done is lie to her. I don't deserve to stay with this group when I can't even tell them the truth about what I've done._

"My friends helped me look for a new Pokémon and I was able to catch a few, but I didn't feel any connection with the ones I caught. I finally found a Cubone on the side of a path one-night crying. After I caught it, it turned out it was crying because a Team Rocket member had taken its mother. I'm sure it was just a silly backstory, but I couldn't help but feel bad for it. I promised him that I'd help him find his mom and that we would get back at Team Rocket for what they'd done. Heh.. hehe"

Sachi started giggling, at first mixed with a few sniffles. The sniffling laughter was contagious and soon Kirito couldn't help himself from awkwardly laughing too. He tried to stifle his laughter since they were talking about something so serious but it spread back to Sachi and soon they were both laughing together until tears came out of their eyes.

"I'm not even sure why I started laughing, maybe taking Team Rocket seriously is hard after watching Pokémon as a kid," Sachi said while wiping a tear out of her eye with her index finger. "I'm glad I can laugh about it now though. For a long time, I felt alone in this game even though my friends were here with me. They all seemed so sure of themselves while I was always scared, but Gaara and I were in the same boat so we comforted each other. Even if I haven't known you long though, I feel like I'm safe when I'm around you. I know there's stuff you can't tell me, but I want to be there for you too."

Sachi stopped talking for a moment, but before she could continue Kirito took his chance to explain himself. "Sachi, I'm sorry for hiding it from you. I didn't lie, but it was stupid of me to not tell you the whole truth. I do trust you. It's hard for me, but I'll tell you all about what happened to my arm. First though, I want to tell you what happened to me on the first day of the game. Something I haven't told anyone else about either."

Kirito and Sachi talked late into the night about all sorts of things. Their families back home, how they'd spent their time in the game (minus being a beater and the raid boss fights), what they wanted to do if they ever got out of the game, and any other subject that came up in between. They laughed, smiled, cried, and laughed some more until the sun was nearly up. Kirito hadn't even noticed the phantom pains in his arm as they talked, and by the time he fell asleep with Sachi's arms timidly wrapped around him it had almost begun to regenerate.


	12. Chapter 12

Deep within Wayward Cave, a single trainer continued to navigate through the dark. Despite the complete lack of light, he didn't make a single misstep in his movements and continued down a ladder until he reached a large circular area he planned to use for training. His Bastiodon stood solidly in front of him, acting as a shield despite the large shield the man held in one hand already. On either side of him stood a Ferroseed and a Golett, giving his team type diversity and ensuring he wouldn't be defeated by Water or Fighting-type attacks alone.

Looking a bit out of place was the Meowth peeping around the back of the Bastiodon. In truth, it wasn't part of his normal team, but he needed its night vision to see in Wayward Cave without using Flash. Rather, he required it to direct his Pokémon in battle against the residents of this cave. He had memorized the layout of the cave days ago and could make his way through it with his eyes closed. Of course, opening your eyes wouldn't help anyways.

Aside from the difficulty of making it to this point, his current location was no doubt one of the best places to gain experience in the game at his current level. More powerful Pokémon in the cave such as Gible and Onix gave extra XP, but more importantly, he had yet to see another living soul in the cavern which allowed him to farm in peace. He didn't dislike people per say, he planned on becoming head of the Assault Team after all. If he had to define his attitude towards average people, it would be indifferent. Still, he didn't want to make his appearance quite yet. For now, he would continue to become the most powerful player in the game; he would make his public appearance in another few boss fights.

One could argue that leveling up in this manner was a pointless activity for him. As the lead programmer of Pokémon World Online, Kayaba Akihiko could level up his own account as he wished without going through the trouble of grinding. Perhaps it was pride, or a notion that he could be the very best without relying on cheats. The real reason why was bound to be complicated. After all, he had become the greatest enigma of a man in the world after giving up fame and fortune to trap tens of thousands of players in his own game. The amount of people who knew that he was actively participating in the game numbered only one, as did the amount of people who knew his real-world location.

He would not be readily identified by his appearance in the game either, he was no fool. He wore red and white armor and his brawny physique and long grey hair gave him a more masculine look than he had in real life. Who would expect him to be participating in the game anyways? His opening speech had given no indication of his true motives, and most assumed that he was monitoring the game as a human might observe ants moving about in an ant farm.

Of course, he had not completely abandoned his godhood. He retained the ability to fix the programming on the off chance that the PIDGEOT system was somehow unable to, and if his health were to reach 5% somehow then it would be unable to drop any further. While this was certainly cheating, he had yet to utilize anything other than his foreknowledge to advance in the game. As the beta players had a similar understanding of the early levels, it could be argued that he had done nothing unfair thus far. He wasn't even top 10 in terms of levels at the moment. He trailed those people who were more desperate to level up in order to escape the game, as he was not willing to lose too much sleep to put in more rigorous training. Aside from that, missing out on the experience from the raid boss fights was putting him ever-so-slightly behind.

As he searched for wild Pokémon, he began to see a distant light slowly approaching him. Stopping to observe it, he could make out the forms of a group of people and what appeared to be a firefly Pokémon in the front using Flash. As they came closer, he began to make out their conversation.

"Man, it sure took a while to find a Volbeat, but it was definitely worth it. It'll take a few more gym badges until we unlock Flash so these caves are practically empty."

"And since no one's here it's the perfect place for a hideout. Especially since that mansion turned out to be a bust."

"I'm still pissed off by that guy, if I ever see him again I'll definitely kill him."

"Yeah well.. Wa-wa-woah! What the hell?! Who's that guy standing there in the dark?"

"Ooh damn, looks like he has some pretty high-leveled Pokémon. Let's take him out and catch them."

"I think we should wait for the boss... he should be here soon after all."

"Oh shut up, are you a pussy or something? It's just one guy."

"Yeah but, he was down here all on his own with no Flash user and he's not running away. This might be a bad idea."

The man in question stood and faced the men with an expression of amusement. _They plan to attack me, do they? Well I'm not one to ignore such a perfect chance to gain free experience, especially considering those orange cursors they have._ Not waiting for his opponents to make the first move, he rushed forwards with surprising speed for a man of his stature. His Ferroseed shot off a Leech Seed towards one of the men while his Golett directed an attack towards the man on the other side. He himself aimed at the man in the center.

The group was by no means inexperienced however. Though they were caught off guard, they all managed to leap back and avoid the attacks directed at them. Heathcliff had expected this; taking out one of the men with a single strike had never been his real objective. Feinting towards the man in the center and stopping short, he gave a swift diagonal slash downwards and caught the Volbeat directly in the back.

The attack knocked the Volbeat off guard and into the incoming attacks of his other two Pokémon. The resulting clash between the Volbeat, Rock Blast, and Payday was enough to get rid of all of the Bug-type Pokémon's HP and destroy it. The Volbeat's death had the added effect of extinguishing the light produced by its bulbous tail, Heathcliff's true mission from the beginning.

Adapting himself immediately to his new surroundings, he watched his body through the Meowth's eyes as he stole his way behind the enemy combatants. Approaching the man in the center stealthily, he used his sword arm to slash the man directly in the arm, removing it from his body completely. Before the man could utter a sound, Heathcliff's other hand was slamming his shield into the man's back, pushing him forward forcefully. Moments later, he was struck across his body by multiple long-distance attacks he had no way to avoid due to the momentum from the shove.

The man's health bar was extinguished as easily as the Volbeat's light had been, and his avatar dissolved completely into the darkness. Regrouping with his Pokémon, Heathcliff scanned his surroundings, only to be surprised as the cave lit up once more and the sound of clapping echoed softly throughout the chamber. He turned his head slightly to see a cloaked man lurking in what had previously been the shadows. When had he entered? Heathcliff was by no means omniscient, but he had full confidence in his sense of hearing after training in complete darkness for days on end.

"Ahahaha I see, what an honor to be in your presence. If not for you none of this could have happened, I'm very grateful. Johnny, Xaxa, leave this cave this instant if you value your lives."

"What? How come? If we're all together now we can definitely take him on. We won't fall for that dirty darkness trick again."

"Say another word and I'll cut your tongue off," the cloaked man hissed, his mouth alone giving off one of the deadliest impressions Heathcliff had ever seen. If he had been in the real world, his hair would have surely been standing on end. No sooner had the thought occurred to him than the man's lips resumed a pleasant smile, as though they were chatting idly in a park.

As the two other men begrudgingly retreated, Heathcliff attempted to make sense of the situation in his head. _This man is very dangerous, there can't be another person like him in this game. Furthermore, he seems to have discovered my true identity. I should just kill him now._ As though the man had read his mind, he quickly began to plead his case.

"You're surely thinking about killing me right now, but I've already sent your true identity to one of my subordinates with instructions to distribute that information upon my death. I'm sure finding a new identity would be troubling to say the least if you plan to continue your façade. No, the real reason I'm here is to propose a little game."

"A game you say? You do realize we are in a game of my own design at the moment, so what kind of game could you possibly be proposing?"

"Oh I think you'll like it, it's no different than your game really. Me and my group will do our best to disrupt the clearers and to stir things up using any non-violent method possible. We aren't allowed to use violence unless attacked first, so you don't have to worry about us player-killing for sport. Really it doesn't change the nature of POW at all, there will just be players attempting to hinder the clearers progress along with the NPC's. Your goal was to lead the clearers all along was it not? I'm sure you could use a little challenge or things will get stale. You did design the game after all."

 _Who the hell is this guy? He doesn't have the personality of a gamer in the slightest. Sure, I expected there to be changes in player mentality after the death game was announced, but it seems like he's quite happy to be stuck in here. What's more, not only did he deduce who I was that quickly, but he understood that me training here was a sign that I planned to participate in the game. I'll have to be careful._

Despite himself, Heathcliff grinned. While his goal had been to lead the clearers, it was true that he knew what to expect from all of the raid bosses. The only problem with designing his own game was that he knew what was coming so he would never be actually surprised. Adding a degree of unpredictability would force him to think more strategically, and if worst came to worst, he still had his admin privileges.

"Alright, I accept your terms, despite your bluff about having told an underling my identity. Even so, if I find out that my alias has been compromised or that low-leveled players are being killed by your hand, I will have no choice but to eliminate you immediately. Are we clear?"

"Kukuku, of course, I wouldn't want to have my time in this paradise cut short you see."

"One last question, how did you know I was in the game?"

"I watched your interviews, that's all. I wanted to see if this game would suit my… urges, and what do you know, I got rewarded beyond my wildest dreams. Oh, but you didn't strike me as the egomaniac type who wanted to lord over people. If you weren't trying to become a God, then you must have wanted to play the game too."

With that, the man snapped his fingers and the Pokémon behind him snuffed out its light immediately. His cloak twirled in the air and he disappeared into the darkness of the cave and out of Meowth's keen eyesight. _How interesting,_ Heathcliff thought to himself, curious but not worried in the slightest. _It appears I may need to join the clearers sooner than expected._

* * *

It had been over a week since Kirito's fight with Maxie. He had fallen into a routine of training with the Moonlit Black Cats for half of the day before journeying to higher-leveled areas for individual training. He had gotten another gym badge at Mauville City, the Dynamo Badge, and he was making steady progress. At night, instead of going out for more late-night leveling sessions, him and Sachi would stay up late talking in bed until they fell asleep. He felt… happy?

Feeling happy in the game made him a bit guilty. After all, wasn't he trying to escape this game? Being happy in the game was like betraying his family back home. _No, that's not how I should think of it. My family would want me to be happy while I'm stuck in here, and I'm still doing my best to make it back home. In another week or two the Moonlit Black Cats will be ready for the front lines. I wonder what'll happen when they find out I'm basically banned from boss fights though. Maybe they'll hate me for lying to them._

Kirito's thoughts were interrupted by a message notification. Opening his Messages and selecting the first one, his eyes widened considerably. 'Bad news, apparently Team Aqua managed to steal the Red Orb from Mt. Pyre. I had some people keeping an eye on it, but it must have been taken while we were at the meeting for the boss fight last night. The timing seems too good for it to be a coincidence but I can't make heads or tails of how NPC's would know to strike when I was occupied. It must have been really bad timing after all. There were 2-3 hours with no one watching the Mountain which is definitely enough time to steal it.'

Kirito wasn't so sure that this really was a coincidence, but it didn't matter right now. He needed to recover the orb before Kyogre could be awakened if at all possible. 'If I'm remembering correctly, they're going to try to use a submarine to bring the orb to where Kyogre is and awaken it. Where's the hideout again?'

'It's in that man-made cave off of Lilycove City. You ain't thinking of going alone, are you?'

'I'll be fine, I was able to take care of Team Magma, wasn't I? Trust me.' Kirito had slightly exaggerated the extent to which he had defeated Team Magma when he had described the fight to Argo.

'You sure? I could skip the boss battle, Kibaou is leading so it's sure to go grrrreat.'

'I think the chances of something going wrong at the boss fight are a lot higher than the chances of Team Aqua messing things up, so you should stay there. With me gone, the adds are going to be harder to clear, and you're one of the only people that Lind and Kibaou might listen to if you realize something is going wrong. If I get damaged or have to fight the Leader and his Admins at the same time then I'll just back out and we'll come up with another plan later.'

'…Ok I guess. Please stay safe Kii-bou.'

Kirito readied himself for the trip to Lilycove City. He had kept himself stocked up on items ever since the incident with Team Magma just in case something like this happened. This way, he wouldn't have to waste time stopping at the Pokémart. Just as he was about to exit, he heard a knock on his door. "It's Sachi, can I come in?"

Unable to think of any excuses, Kirito opened the door and plopped down onto his bed. Moments later she sat down beside him. After a few seconds of uncomfortable silence, Sachi spoke first.

"You have to go, don't you?"

"Wha.. how did you know?"

"You have the same look on your face as when you ran off to trail Team Magma."

"Pssh, I guess there's no hiding anything from you, not that I was going to!" Kirito exclaimed nervously. "But yeah, Team Aqua apparently got the Red Orb so they'll be preparing to take a submarine from their base to awaken Kyogre. If I get there in time I should be able to stop it."

"Can't you see if someone from the Assault Team is available? Surely a group of clearers would be best to handle them."

"Who's going to believe that Team Aqua is going off script and are about to awaken Kyogre this early in the game? I can hardly believe it myself to be honest. Besides, the Raid Boss fight is today so they'll need their full strength."

"Oh, I see. We should go wit-"

"NO! I mean, I'm sorry, but I need to do this alone. I'm sorry Sachi, but just have faith in me this once."

"Of course I believe in you, but it seems like you're the one who doesn't believe in us…" Sachi trailed off before scooching closer and turning to look Kirito directly in the face. "Okay fine, you have to promise to make it back then okay?"

Sachi's face couldn't have been ten centimeters from his own. She was so close that he could feel her breath gently tickling his mouth. Her eyes were a light blue color, maybe aquamarine, he wasn't sure, and her black hair was cut off neatly above her eyes. He could see the faint detail of her eyebrows furrowed slightly as she awaited his answer and her mouth made a cute little circle. _She really is pretty._ His face began to redden as the thought slipped out, but he suppressed the instinct to turn his face away.

"I-I promise tha-"

His sentence was cut off in the middle as his lips were intercepted by Sachi's own. He noticed too late what was happening as he still tried to mumble the rest of the sentence, but as he grasped that her lips weren't moving away from his, he stopped trying to talk and closed his eyes. Her lips were wet and hot and he found himself enraptured by the kiss. It was his first and he wasn't sure of what to do, but it felt so natural that he found himself pushing his lips forwards into hers, lightly sucking her bottom lip between his own. Her gloved hands were delicately gripping his arms and he felt his heart thumping rapidly in his chest, which was mere inches from her own. It finally occurred to him that they had been alone in a room together all those nights, and he realized the not so innocent actions that were associated with such a thing. Seconds felt like hours and Kirito reveled in the divine sensation until he felt her lips pulling back from his. Reluctantly, he parted his lips, releasing her from the kiss, only for her to push forward once more with passion as her soft breasts nudged into his chest to his delight. As soon as it had started again it was over, and Sachi had moved back to her original position where she was looking him happily in the eyes.

"You promised remember, so you better make it back."

"Don't worry," Kirito grinned, "I've never had more motivation to make it back to somewhere in my life."

Sachi's smile grew even wider and she hugged Kirito. Her warmness soaked into him as though he was a plant absorbing the sun's rays. Her cheek was pressed against his, and his hand moved up and down her back while her arms were wrapped tightly around him. Feeling fully charged up, Kirito finally ended the hug and pulled himself upwards. Any longer and he would lose his resolve to leave.

Saying his last goodbyes and telling her to let the group know where he was, Kirito left the room and began making his way towards his destination. He released his Pokémon from the Pokélink as he made his way outside and lightly touched his index finger to his mouth, reveling in the sensation from before that still seemed to flutter gently atop his lips.

{You seem so lively Master. Did something good happen?}

Kirito was in too good a mood to respond to his Zorua's sarcastic reference, which he wasn't entirely sure how it had known in the first place. Resolving to kick Team Aqua's ass and make it home early, he began running towards the fastest route.

* * *

Sachi was in the wild grass searching for Pokémon with her teammates when she noticed the form of a girl in a cloak running towards them. To be more accurate, the girl was likely intending to run past them into the town. As she approached though, she began to slow down while looking at them curiously. It was at this point that Sachi saw the 6 black whiskers that seemed to be drawn on the girl's face. A lightbulb lit up in her mind as she made the connection, but the first to speak was Keita.

"Could you be.. Argo the Rat? Is there.. something we can help you with?"

The group had all heard of Argo the Rat, the most famous and reliable information broker in POW. What they were more surprised by was that she apparently knew them.

"Yes I am, would you happen to be the Moonlit Black Cats?" The girl seemed to be in a rush and was bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet while wringing her hands. Her eyes shifted habitually to each of them in turn, taking in information with her photographic memory. Her gaze lingered temporarily on Sachi, and after looking her up and down, she smirked before turning back towards Keita who had begun to speak.

"Uhm, yeah, we are. Why? Have you heard of us?"

"No time to explain, I'm looking for Kirito, do you know where he is?"

Sachi took this chance to take control of the situation and speak up. She had already informed the Moonlit Black Cats as to where Kirito was going but if Kirito was in some kind of trouble then they couldn't waste time with small talk.

"Yes, he told me that he was going to Lilycove and I told the rest of our group. I'm guessing you're the one who told him about the orb in the first place. What's wrong?"

Argo nodded in appreciation at the quick dispersal of information, but her expression quickly soured. "Shit, so he's definitely not still in his room with his messages turned off or something. This is bad."

Looking around, the girl sighed. "Damn, well I don't have time to chase him to Lilycove and I probably wouldn't make it in time anyways so I'll just tell you. He might already know this information anyways but it's pretty important so I wanted to make sure. Do you guys remember the Team Aqua hideout from Gen 3?"

"Yes, get on with it."

"Well, there's a room with a Master Ball in it in the game. The Master Ball is a trap though, and if you try to pick it up you'll trigger an alarm. It's a pretty nasty trap and everyone who tried it in the beta died. Of course, everyone who tried it back then was way underleveled and the trap may have been removed from the game anyways, but if he thinks to pick it up it could be bad."

"Why would he already know about the trap? Was Kirito in the beta test?" Keita seemed to have instantly understood the implications of what Argo was saying.

The girl's expression seemed to become confused for a second before her eyes lit up. Instantly, her poker face returned, but she seemed to have realized that Kirito was hiding information from most of the group. "I'm sorry, the boss fight is about to start and I don't have time to waste chatting. Do what you will with that information. Later."

Making a peace sign with her fingers and giving a cheesy smile, Argo turned around quickly and began dashing back the way she had come. Her AGI stat was no doubt far above any of their own and they had no way to catch her even if they had wanted to. Watching her form fade into the distance, the group began to debate what they should do. Sachi, of course, wanted to go to the hideout to warn Kirito while Keita argued that it was too dangerous to rush in with no information.

"I'm the leader of this group and that decision is FINAL. I'm not having us rush in there and possibly lose all of our lives. Kirito may be part of our group but at the end of the day, he made this decision on his own, and it's my real-life friends who I care about most."

"So you're just going to leave him to die without even trying to help him?" Sachi exclaimed. "Let's not forget that some of us owe him our lives."

"Look, we aren't just going to leave him there but going alone is too risky. It seems like there's a real chance Kirito was lying about his level to us." Sachi stayed silent at this accusation. "If we're going to go to that hideout then we should recruit backup. You guys stock up on potions and stuff, I'm going to try to get in contact with someone I met on the first day. They might be able to help and I know for a fact they're farming nearby."

With that, Keita took off running in the same direction Argo had minutes ago. Sachi's face was downcast as she worried about what might be happening to Kirito at this very moment. Nobody said anything for 15-20 seconds after Keita left. It was Tetsuo who spoke up to break the silence once their leader was out of range.

"So, what are we waiting for? Let's get going."

"I know Keita is trying to keep us safe but I can't just leave a friend in need. If we head there now we might just make it in time."

"Yeah, Kirito saved me in that cave without knowing anything about me. If I can't put my life on the line to help an actual friend, then what good am I as a person? Thieves have honor too you know."

Sachi could barely hold in her tears, and in a burst of emotion she rushed forth and hugged all three of her friends at once to the best of her ability. "Thanks you guys, you're the best friends anyone could ever ask for."

"Sachi I appreciate the enthusiasm, but did you really think we wouldn't help out for even a second? Just because we aren't sneaking into his room every night doesn't mean we don't consider him a friend."

Sachi's cheeks burned an intense shade of red as she heard the snickers from the other two boys. Ignoring the jab, she hugged them even tighter in the awkward 4-person embrace before letting go.

"Well, let's get going now then, there's no time to waste."

"Yeah let's go, we've been training hard for the past few weeks. We'll definitely be able to help."

"You know, if I'm going to die in this game, then I don't think it's quite so bad if I die helping a friend. It'd be like the game couldn't change me completely you know? I want to die as myself, not as a coward."

"Tetsuo if you keep talking like a dead man I'll smack you," Sasamaru said as they began running towards Lilycove City.

"Hey man, I was saying something beautiful and inspiring."

"Guys, guys, quit arguing. The idea of us dying in there is way too" a burst of light came from Ducker's arm and a bird Pokémon holding a stick appeared on his shoulder. No doubt following the orders of its master, it squawked out its cry, "Farfetch'd".

The two boys both groaned and Sachi began to giggle as they ran towards their destination. No matter what, she wouldn't have any regrets. Despite being stuck in a death game, this was one of the happiest moments she had experienced in her life.

* * *

Kirito had been making his way carefully through the Team Aqua hideout. The layout of the warp tiles was a little confusing and being teleported was a disorienting experience to say the least. It was smart of him to make sure he'd stocked up on healing items prior to his infiltration. Without knowing what was waiting for him in the next room, he was forced to heal to full health after each fight to minimize his risks. He was still at a high enough level that a group of 3-4 grunts didn't pose any real threat to him though, so he was able to make his way through the facility without too much difficulty.

 _Still, at this rate I won't make it in time to stop Archie._ Kirito stepped onto yet another warp tile, and after a brief moment of spinning in a bright tunnel of light, he found himself in the biggest room yet. There was no floor in the center of the room, it was instead apparently filled with dark blue water. He realized instantly that this was no indoor pool, but rather, it was a gateway to the ocean itself. He was unable to see the bottom of the pool after all, and the submarine on the opposite side of a metal barrier was a dead giveaway.

"Har har har, that kiddo really did make it this far." The voice came from an eloquently dressed man standing atop the submarine. His tight blue skinsuit accentuated his muscular build and his light blue bandana had the traditional Team Aqua emblem on it. The man's face wasn't by any means unpleasant, his crisply trimmed beard and dark tan gave him an air of authority which was added to by the gold anchor necklace he wore around his neck. The only thing that looked somewhat out of place was the slightly dorky water shoes on his feet, although they made sense in context.

"I heard that bastard Maxie ran into some trouble with you, but I never imagined ye'd make it this far. I'm sure you're here to stop me from getting in this here submarine." As he talked, Archie opened the hatch of the submarine revealing a set of stairs leading into its depths. "Hell, my seaman's pride makes me want to challenge you right here and now myself. I've got a few tricks up my sleeves after all," he said with a toothy grin.

"Too bad though, I don't have time to play games with you right now. Duty calls. Later kid, I'm sure I'll be seeing you around." With that, the man leapt agilely into the submarine and closed the hatch in one swift motion. Kirito immediately leapt into action and began to run towards the opposite side of the metal barrier.

The issue, which he realized immediately, was that there was only one small pathway of floor leading to the other side of the room. More importantly, a very heavily built man with a skull necklace and no shirt on stood in his way. There was barely room to pass around either side of his mass, and the Team Aqua emblem tattooed on his chest guaranteed that he wouldn't let Kirito pass through easily. Kirito's eyes darted to the submarine and back to the man, looking for a way to pass him without getting caught in a battle.

The man easily read Kirito's intentions though, and he released a Golbat and a Sharpedo from his Pokélink immediately. With the additional Pokémon taking up space, there was no choice but for Kirito to battle his way through.

"You there, I'll be the one to battle you. Archie told me you're a strong opponent so I don't have to hold back. He also told me not to kill you either, said killing a young trainer in cold blood would leave a bad taste in his mouth." As the hulk of a man talked, the submarine began to sink under the water's surface, and Kirito knew he had no way of stopping Archie now even if he had a Pokémon capable of using Dive.

A wicked smirk appeared on the man's face suddenly. "But Archie isn't here right now, is he? I have a lot of trouble measuring my own power, and when I go into battle I go into a frenzy. Even if you try to surrender, my brain probably won't process it until you're already dead. You sure you want to fight?"

Kirito weighed the options in his head. _Even if this guy isn't stronger than Archie or Maxie, he's still a Team Aqua Admin. There's really not much of a point to fighting him now that the submarine is gone, I can just walk back to the warp tile. Still, this guy will get me a lot of experience and it's a good way to get in some battle practice. If I can't beat him on my own then what'll I do if I run into Maxie or Archie in a group again?_

Deciding to fight, he readied himself and gave instructions to his Pokémon. {Let's win this quick. If we focus fire the Golbat first and focus on defense then we'll have a big numbers advantage to take down the bigger threats. Chardcore and Estelle, make sure not to take a direct hit from that Sharpedo, it's a heavy hitter.} His Zorua was currently taking the form of a Nuzleaf. As the main threat towards Sharpedo, he hoped it would draw the Sharpedo's attention while preventing it from using STAB moves at first.

His opponent made the first move. Rushing down the corridor with heavy footsteps and a loud battle cry, the man drew out a large double-headed axe that he held in both hands. As he began to raise the axe over his head, he was met with a Sucker Punch from the Nuzleaf which stunned him momentarily, slowing his attack. No later had the attack hit than the Sharpedo's gleaming white teeth, covered in frost, sunk into the Nuzleaf. Its illusion was immediately shattered and the form of a Zorua took its place, having lost about a third of its health from the Ice Fang.

This development further confused his opponent, allowing Kirito to get in a quick slash to the chest with his sword before blocking the grimacing man's attack. He was barely able to keep from dropping his sword as the full weight of the man was thrown into the axe, but he managed. What's more, the Golbat's Wing Attack, aimed towards the place where a Nuzleaf had been originally, was prevented by the double impact of a Psyshock and an Ember colliding with the Golbat itself.

 _Perfect_ , Kirito thought to himself, _one or two more attacks will take out the Golbat and Sharpedo doesn't have any boosting moves. That Ice Fang did more than I'd hoped it would though._

"Sharpedo, get back, you know what to do." Team Aqua Admin Matt, if Kirito was remembering his name correctly from the games, seemed to be planning something. No matter what he thought of though, Kirito couldn't imagine what it was. _I'm sure that Sharpedo doesn't have a boosting move but it seems like he wants to protect it. I can use this to my advantage._

Moments after he'd relayed his orders, Chardcore began rushing towards the Sharpedo. {You got it boss.} The Team Aqua member smashed his axe down where the Charmeleon had appeared to be going but came up empty. He had fallen for the fake and left his Golbat exposed. The image of an orange lizard sticking its fiery fangs into the bat-like Pokémon entered Kirito's view, and moments later a Dark Pulse finished it off. Kirito also took this opportunity to land a quick one-hit sword skill on the man in front of him and a Psyshock knocked the man's health barely into the red zone.

However, what Kirito hadn't been expecting was the red glow around Sharpedo as the icon for an increase in its critical strike percentage appeared. _Shit, I completely forgot about focus energy._

In competitive battles, the move was almost never used except for on Kingdra occasionally, as its ability Sniper doubled the damage from critical hits. Still, most trainers chose to go with the more consistent Swift Swim ability and used Kingdra primarily on rain teams. On a Pokémon like Sharpedo with high attack power though, the boost to its critical strike might allow it to take out each of Kirito's Pokémon with a single attack. Charmeleon and Gothita were already weak to its STAB attacks so they would certainly go down in one hit, and Zorua had been weakened by the earlier Ice Fang. If one of his Pokémon died, Kirito would have no way of getting it to the Pokémon center in time and it would surely be dead for good.

"Figure it out yet? You put up a good fight punk, but now I can fight defensively while Sharpedo takes each of your Pokémon down one by one, in front of your very eyes." The Team Aqua Admin's eyes glowed with the signs of sure victory. _This idiot, he's as good as dead. I'm just worried that I have no way out of this without having to sacrifice a Pokémon. I hate to think of it like this.. but losing Estelle would be the least damaging to my team if it comes to it. Woah, what's going on._

Kirito and his opponent stood gaping as a white light surrounded his Zorua, forming a spherical cocoon around it. The sphere began to pulse, expanding and receding in waves as white sparks seemed to shoot out of the top and into the air. Within the cocoon, the shadowy form of his Pokémon seemed unstable, growing and shrinking similarly to the light itself. The growing and shrinking increased in speed until the difference between the two forms was completely imperceptible to the naked eye. A final burst of sparks shot forth, signaling the end of the process. Where the small black Pokémon had previously stood was a large, slender fox Pokémon with long red hair trailing behind its head and a mischievous smile. It was standing on its hind legs with apparent ease.

The newly evolved Pokémon looked back at Kirito and winked before turning to face their stunned opponent. "Surprised? That wasn't even my final form dear, although, I guess this is." It took Kirito a moment to realize that the voice had spoken out loud. It had sounded exactly like the voice Kiriko used when talking to him inside of his head.

Recovering, the man attempted to put a smug expression back on his face. "As if that matters. Sharpedo, use Waterfall." The Sharpedo had apparently moving forward in anticipation of the attack before it was called and zoomed past the man's side at frightening speeds. Unable to dodge it in time, his Zoroark used Sucker Punch to quickly damage the Sharpedo before getting hit. The attacks landed nearly simultaneously and Kiriko was sent backwards several feet by the impact to her neck. {Now's your chance, Dragon Rage, Psyshock.}

Not looking in the direction of Zoroark so as not to lose his nerve if she died during his attack, Kirito followed the attacks from his Pokémon towards the momentarily dazed Sharpedo and caught it with a Vertical Arc. The combination attack, perhaps aided by the earlier Sucker Punch, was enough to destroy the Sharpedo completely. The shark-like beast had paper thin defenses after all, and it was possibly the best example of a glass cannon in the Pokémon universe.

The Team Aqua Admin wasn't a novice however, and surely knew the weaknesses of his own Pokémon. As soon as Kirito began moving forward, he had mirrored the boy's movements and raised his brutal axe over his head as his feet took him within a yard of Kirito. A flurry of black and red movement caught the corner of Kirito's eyes. _No, what is she doing? I'll survive a single attack from full health but if she takes so much as a light tap to the face then she'll die._

The man's axe didn't move from his head as the Zoroark rapidly approached him and he gave a hoarse chuckle. "Did you think I'd fall for the same trick that many times? If I'm going down then I'm taking you wit-"

The impact of a dark claws slamming into his unprotected chest and raking down his stomach silenced the man. His axe hadn't moved from its position, a clear indication that he had been expecting a Sucker Punch. As the man's health began to drain in front of his very eyes, he managed a single syllable. "How…?"

"You thought I'd use the same move that many times? You really are an idiot. I learn Night Slash on evolution, there's no point risking a Sucker Punch when I could dodge that axe of yours in my sleep. Now die already."

With that, the Zoroark ripped its claws from the man's body and backed off as the man's axe fell to the ground and disintegrated along with the man himself. Looking over at his Pokémon's health bar, Kirito was shocked to see her health at a sliver that couldn't have been more than 3% of its total. He soon breathed a sigh of relief though, thanking the heavens that his starter Pokémon had survived.

"You sure played that one close to the chest."

"I don't want to hear that from the one who never had to accept this battle in the first place."

Kirito got up off the ground, but on turning to face his Zoroark, he hesitated. His Pokémon was much larger now and patting it on the head didn't feel nearly as appropriate. Kiriko read his emotions easily though.

"Oh come on, don't be intimidated by little ol' me Master. Head pats are the very nourishment that sustain my life force."

"Yeah yeah, you can have however many you want after we get out of this hideout alive. Let's get going, great job to you guys too Chardcore and Estelle."

{You got it bro, now let's go fight some more! I've gotta be getting close to evolving too.}

{Your wonderful planning has won us the day, Guru Kirito.}

Kirito sighed and smiled. They were an odd bunch, but they were trustworthy and effective in battle. Opening his inventory to heal his Pokémon, he began walking back towards the warp pad. He still had one thing left to do in his PVE playthrough of the Team Aqua base.

* * *

 _Shit, it got burnt,_ Asuna thought to herself as the small characteristic flame of the burn status condition flickered into and out of existence on the Makuhita's body. She was fighting adds in the boss fight once again, and while everything had gone according to plan otherwise, the small chance Flamethrower had of burning its target was working against her. While one would normally want to burn an opponent for the constant health bleeding effect and the decrease in the Pokémon's attack stat, in the case of a Pokémon with Guts like Makuhita, it would increase the Pokémon's attack considerably instead. Fortunately, the damage the burn inflicted would continue to work in her favor, but a single hit from the Fighting-type Pokémon would do considerable damage to either of her Pokémon.

Thinking quickly on her feet, Asuna commanded her Vulpix to back away from the Makuhita who was approaching Kitsune menacingly despite its round, cuddly looking body. {Surf Slave, use a smokescreen between them now.} Her Horsea followed her orders and began to produce a black cloudy substance that obscured the vision of anything near. Asuna made her way over to where Vulpix was quickly in the meanwhile.

{Your highness, the Makuhita just charged.}

{Thanks. Kitsune, jump over the smokescreen now and get ready to use Flamethrower.}

{Got it.}

Taking two quick steps before tensing her leg muscles and jumping elegantly into the air, her Vulpix soared over the smoke and the Makuhita encompassed by it. In the smoke, it was unable to see Vulpix's movement and continued its charge forwards as a result. Asuna had set this situation up by positioning her Horsea in a way that it could alert her to any movements from the opposing Pokémon in order to time her instructions carefully. The hardest part was yet to come though.

 _Wait for it… wait for it._ Asuna counted out the seconds in her mind and was not surprised when the Makuhita emerged from the smoke at the exact time she'd expected. Calculating its position, she instructed her Vulpix to fire directly back at where she was. At the same time, she dashed forward with her rapier and expertly used a Linear to catch it in the head while staying out of the range from which the Makuhita could attack her. She began to deftly roll to the side before her attack had even completed.

She was just in time as the Flamethrower tore through the smoky curtain like paper and smashed into the Pokémon's back-side. The Makuhita's attack had missed and she had inflicted heavy damage onto it in the process. {Surf Slave, finish it off with a Water Gun!} While it was the right decision, it turned out to be unnecessary as the flame flickered once more across the body of the Guts Pokémon and its life points were fully drained.

Looking around to assess the situation nearby, Asuna's eyes caught those of Heathcliff who appeared to have been observing her. He was the newest member of the clearers who had replaced Kirito. Despite his apparent inattention to what he was doing, he had hardly taken any damage while successfully taking on his adds. This was especially impressive as two thirds of his team was weak to fighting types. In terms of offensive capabilities though he was far from Kirito, who would have likely cleared out an additional add or two in the time it had taken Heathcliff to face off against his quarry. She couldn't blame someone for not playing in such a reckless style in a death game though, and truthfully, Heathcliff had fulfilled his role wonderfully. Still, she had a weird gut feeling that he was hiding something.

Ignoring the feeling for the moment, she looked towards the rest of her teammates. Agil's group was performing well as always, the man himself appeared to be enjoying the battle between Fighting-type and Fighting-type as his Machop and Timburr took on their enemy counterparts with his encouragement and occasional aid. _I want to get mad at him for not taking this seriously enough but I can't, not after he stuck up for me. Besides, he's doing his job well enough anyways. In truth we shouldn't be stuck on add duty._

Searching further she noticed Argo, who was distracting additional adds without heavily committing until someone more suited to the battle could help. It wasn't that Argo didn't trust her own abilities, but having all Normal-types and close-ranged attacks against a Fighting-type gym was asking to lose one or both of your Pokémon if you weren't careful. Besides, the girl's main goal was to observe the real boss fight happening at the front of the room in case something went wrong.

 _I should probably get over there and help her out. While I'm over there I'll grill her on why she hasn't diversified her Pokémon team yet. Only using one type is asking for trouble._ Asuna would never have imagined that she would have learned so much about Pokémon when she first booted up POW. While there was still much more for her to learn if she wanted to survive this game, she knew the typing and abilities of a good amount of Pokémon and knew what to look out for in a fight. Pokémon was ultimately pretty simple after all, and once you figured out typings and such, it became easy to make strategies when fighting against teams you knew ahead of time. Translating that to actual battles where you didn't know the enemy team and unpredicted events could occur was what was tricky.

Clearing her head of thoughts that wouldn't help with the current battle, Asuna made her way over to Argo and commanded her Pokémon to engage the Meditite intently following her friend. "How's it going with the clearers."

"Not bad so far, they haven't triggered Guts as far as I can tell and they've kept Pokémon casualties to a minimum. It only has half of its last health bar left but I'm still worried something could happen. This is the most dangerous part of the fight."

As they watched, there seemed to be a disagreement between Kibaou's team and Lind's team on who would engage the massive Machoke next. Asuna couldn't hear what they were saying very well from this range, but she thought she made out the words, "Fine, but you better not steal the LA bonus from us. I'm the commander for this battle, so when I say switch out my team goes in, ya hear me?"

Lind's team began to approach the boss while Lind himself stayed behind to exchange a few choice words with Kibaou before joining them. Argo sighed, exclaiming to Asuna, "They're the same as always, aren't they?"

Asuna noticed Heathcliff steadily approaching her and Argo out of the corner of her eye. As she turned to face him, he opened his mouth and said, "Are the lead clearers always in such disorder? I feel as though I'm watching children fighting over a toy."

"Welcome to the club pal, they're obnoxious but they're heads of the two most powerful guilds in the game, so what can you do?"

As they watched the flurry of attacks assaulting the Machoke, Argo was the first to notice it. "Hey, that hooded guy on Kibaou's team, I think his name is Joe. Isn't his Panpour using Scald?" Asuna had not yet seen the move used before, but having a water type Pokémon on her team, she was sure the water-monkey Pokémon was not using Water Gun or Bubble.

"Yes, that's certainly Scald," replied Heathcliff. "What in the world does he think he's doing? If he burns that thing then people may very well die as a result."

Asuna wanted to mention that it was the same man whose Chatot that had confused the Pidgeotto in the previous raid boss fight, but before she could, the Machoke's last health bar hit the red. To the leader of the Fighting-type elemental gym, Brawly, that must have acted as some sort of trigger. Knocking back the group in charge of containing him with only a powerful punch to the ground boosted by the brass knuckles he wore, he dashed towards his Pokémon and tossed it a pink and purple orb. No sooner had the Pokémon caught it in one of its hands than its body pulsed a sickening purple color and the Poison status effect was displayed above its head.

"I didn't think I'd have to use this, but this is where the real battle begins." The blue haired man was wearing sandals and had orange sunglasses tucked stylishly into his hair. Getting into position, he took an identical fighting stance to the brawny humanoid Pokémon wearing a championship belt by his side. Together at the same time, they leapt up into the air and wound up their fists before smashing them into the floor, effectively using a ground pound. The resultant shockwave disrupted the clearers and knocked those in the very front backwards. In the chaos, the Machoke and its trainer began to rush forwards and each eliminated a weakened Pokémon in a single strike.

Most of the clearers looked to Lind for leadership, much to Kibaou's chagrin, but neither of the two were entirely sure of what to do in such an unexpected situation. The leaders of the elemental gyms had never varied their patterns like this before, and only a select group that normally held off the boss was fully prepared to deal with him. The Machoke surely had Guts as well, and it would be difficult to convince people to attack it head on with the risk of death from a single clean hit.

Beside her, Heathcliff sighed. "The clearers are in greater disarray than I'd expected, I'll have to step in. Asuna, come with me."

Asuna thought to protest the command given to her out of nowhere but decided better of it. The man had an air of authority to him that reminded her of her mother, and she was in no position to disobey if he could potentially save multiple lives. Rushing forward to the front with her Pokémon, Heathcliff directed her to take on the Machoke while attracting Brawly's attention to himself by calling out to him. This was certainly a bold move and it elicited gasps from the clearers.

Ignoring them, he began to call out directions. "I'm taking over as acting commander, save your queries or criticisms for after the battle. All those on my side of the room will be taking my orders while all of those on the other side will listen to Asuna."

 _Me? What the hell? I have to lead these people and try to save their lives right now... Oh god oh god what do I do? Okay, calm down and look at the facts. A little heads up would have been ni- no no no it's not the time for that. Machoke is poisoned and he'll be taking damage at an increased rate over time. The first tick of poison was at 30 seconds and looked like it did 2% damage, the damage doubles each tick so at this rate, we need to wait it out for… another minute and a half. Okay, I can do this._

"LISTEN UP, we need to avoid Machoke's attacks for about a minute and a half. Any tanky Pokémon that resist fighting to the front. We'll use traditional defend and switch tactics with potion rotations. Everyone low on health separate so that if the Machoke makes it out of the choke point you can evade its attacks without tripping over someone. Move out."

To Asuna's surprise, everyone listened to her commands without the slightest hesitation. Another Pokémon died in the time she was talking, but there had still been no human fatalities. They had just enough Pokémon resistant to fighting to circle them in to take the brunt of the attacks. Meanwhile, players with full health and shields assisted them and prevented the Machoke's attention from being caught by the damaged Pokémon or people further back. When the fourth tick of poison spread through the body of the humanoid beast, only a sliver of its life remained.

"When the Machoke's next attack is blocked everyone rush it at once!" One last thud sound from a Nincada being knocked backwards resounded through the hall, but it was quickly drowned out by the roar of the flood of players rushing in to strike the final blow. Looking over at Heathcliff's side of the room, Asuna was pleased to see that Brawly had been successfully contained as well. Moments later, cheers chorused through the room as a Congratulations sign appeared in the air, and Brawly made a short announcement before shrugging and walking out of the room.

As the players quieted down, Heathcliff approached the center of the room and stood silently. Once he had everyone's attention, he began to speak. "Greetings, my name is Heathcliff. I have not been with the clearers for long, but I am appalled by what I have seen of its leadership. This group is fractured and disorganized; having two leaders who appear to be childishly competing with one another will only result in more unnecessary deaths. As such, I am announcing that I will be forming a guild. I will only accept the best players who are willing to train rigorously. That is all."

His eyes past over and lingered on Asuna and a few other players he had presumably judged to be worthy as he spoke. As soon as finished speaking, Kibaou began to speak up. "Now wait just a minute…"

Heathcliff did not however, he walked directly to the door without sparing Kibaou or Lind a glance and exited the room. This act did not go over well with Kibaou. "That bastard, what an elitist. I don't care who you are or if you help out with one little boss fight. You don't talk down to the players that have been risking their lives here from the get go. I bet he's one of those beta testers that's been hogging our resources this whole time. My guild won't stand for keeping information from the average players who are working to clear this game. Anyone who wants to keep all of the good stuff for themselves and doesn't want to share can go join him for all I care," he said while gesturing at the door.

This got cheers from most of Kibaou's party, who had looked nervous until he had given his speech. With renewed vigor, they began searching through the new items they had attained and began preparing for the next town. _Wow, he missed the point entirely, Heathcliff said nothing about keeping information or items to himself. There's not even the slightest shred of proof that he played in the beta either. Or maybe Kibaou missed the point on purpose, his followers still seem to be loyal to him at least._

As she speculated, she remembered the advice that the black-haired trainer had given her. _If you find a guild you trust, join it. There's a limit to what a solo player can do, or something along those lines. Funny coming from the one who's accomplished the most in this game while playing solo. Still, it's not a bad idea, but I'm not just going to join a guild after meeting the leader one time. I'll think about it._

Noticing Lind, who had been apparently mulling over what to say, about to give a speech of his own. Asuna began to make her way to the exit. After receiving a quick fist bump and some kind words from Agil and his gang, she noticed Argo checking her messages by the wall. The girl's eyes suddenly widened in surprise and she clapped her left hand to her mouth to stop a loud gasp from escaping as Asuna approached. Noticing her erratic behavior, Asuna asked, "What's wrong Argo? Did something happen?"

* * *

Finding the room he was looking for had been a pain. He had known that one of the warp panels on the bridge led there, but he hadn't known which one. He was forced into annoying fights with a Team Aqua member or two multiple times and was beginning to feel a bit sorry for massacring so many Team Aqua Grunts in their own base. Nevertheless, he had finally found the room he was looking for by going through the last warp portal remaining.

While he said it was the room he was looking for, the actual room appeared to be through another door. Kirito could see into the room ahead of him which was much bigger than it had been in the games. In Pokémon Emerald, there had been 4 Pokéballs which contained items directly in the room he warped to. He wasn't sure what purpose the slight change in the layout made, but he walked into the next room regardless.

Checking out his surroundings, Kirito was surprised by how spacious the room really was. It was a large square room with a variety of paintings on the wall, most of them grey and silver with a few other colors. In the very center of the room was a small red rug with 4 Pokéballs on it. Three of them were colored regularly, but the one on the top left looked completely different. For starters, it was purple with a white letter 'M' written on the front. It also wasn't a perfect sphere like the rest of the balls, as it had two pink bulges on it to give it a more unique design.

 _Perfect, I wasn't able to play as much when the Team Aqua hideout was discovered in the beta, so I never had a chance to get my hands on one of these. If I'm banned from the boss fights, then I might as well work on making my team as strong as possible for when we take on the League of Elites._

Bending down to grab the items, he first started with the regular Pokéballs. There was no rush, and he certainly wasn't worried about someone coming in to interrupt him after basically annihilating the facility's entire population. The first Pokéball he grabbed was the one on the bottom left. As he picked it up, a notification appeared on his menu asking him if he'd like to add the Nugget to his inventory. Selecting yes, he repeated the process for the next two Pokéballs and obtained a Star Piece and an Ether. He could sell the Nugget and Star Piece for a good amount of Pokéyen at the Pokémart, and the ether would come in very handy if there were any sort of Victory Road situation or one of his Pokémon ran out of PP unexpectedly. This was a very good haul by itself and Kirito felt rewarded for his perseverance.

As he reached towards the Master Ball, a thought occurred in his mind. Had his luck been, perhaps, too good? If he remembered correctly, in the games, two of the items had turned out to be Electrodes that would fight the trainer instead. While it was hard to actually disguise Pokéballs as Electrodes, it still didn't assuage the feeling of discomfort he had. Why would the other two items be so good if he was already getting a nugget and a Master Ball? Looking up, he realized what else had been bugging him.

The paintings on the wall were mostly all grey and silver. As he looked at them closer, he realized that all of the paintings were actually of Steel-type Pokémon. Each painting consisted of a single Magnemite, Beldum, or Klink. Kirito was starting to become freaked out, who the hell would change the design of the room in such a weird way, and why had the small room from the games been replaced with such a large and spacious one? Why put so much work into designing a room where you would only come to pick up some items before leaving?

{Yo Boss, hurry it up! I'm getting hungry and-}

'BEEP BEEP BEEP, Intruder Detected. BEEP BEEP BEEP, Intruder Detected.'

Maybe it was Chardcore's disruption which had made his hand move, or perhaps he'd just become unnerved by what he'd discovered. Either way, it was definitely the case that his hand, which had been hovering right above the Master Ball as he debated whether or not to pick it up, had slipped ever so slightly and touched the ball. There was no time for Kirito to worry about why he'd touched the ball at the moment though, he needed to get out of the room as fast as possible.

In front of him, he watched in horror as the pictures on the wall began to split open as though they were only puzzle pieces, to reveal giant holes in the wall. Not waiting to see what would happen next, he turned around only to find that the pictures on the opposite side of the room had already completed the process and had numerous metallic Pokémon streaming out of them. The horde of Magnemite, Klink, and Beldum, seemed endless as they exited the walls, and they all seemed to be looking directly at Kirito.

Not one to be paralyzed by fear, Kirito immediately began instructing his Pokémon. {Chardcore, use Flamethrower on cooldown and Fire Fang if they get close. Kiriko do the same thing with Dark Pulse and Night Slash. Estelle, weave in some Psyshocks but I want you to be the eyes in the back and focus on figuring out any patterns. Fight like your lives are on the line! Cause well, they are.}

The blaring of the alarm system had begun to be overtaken by the whirring of gears and buzzing of the Magnemite army. As they spawned, they seemed to be converging on Kirito. From his side, a burst of flames shot forth, signaling the start of the battle. Kirito rushed forward with his sword and was careful not to use sword skills with long refractory periods. He couldn't afford to be defenseless for too long.

He slammed a Vertical Arc into the first Beldum he saw, slamming it backwards and halting the line temporarily while it disintegrated in the process. The Pokémon appeared to be relatively low leveled which made sense in an ambush of this magnitude. As his sword cut through the next enemy, he looked through the eyes of his Pokémon in his mind to gain a better understanding of the situation.

Chardcore was blasting enemies with flames and would chomp down on any Pokémon that approached it from the side with its fiery teeth. However, even the Pokémon that reached Charmeleon didn't show it any hostility, but merely tried to move past it. Looking through Kiriko's eyes he saw a similar phenomenon. Her Dark Pulses and Night Slashes were fired off rapidly but she was never attacked in return.

{Guru Kirito, I don't think these Pokémon are targeting me.} He finally checked Estelle's vision to see a stream of Klink's moving past her without attacking her. Even after one was hit with a Psyshock, it merely brushed off the attack and kept going before a second Psyshock ended its life.

 _Crap, this is the worst-case scenario,_ Kirito thought as he continued to swing his sword. _They're only targeting the one who touched the ball so they'll ignore my Pokémon._ As though corroborating Kirito's conclusions, a Klink made it through the defenses of the Pokémon protecting his back and rushed forward to pinch him between its gears using Vice Grip. The damage wasn't much, but Kirito was forced to turn around to deal with the Klink while Pokémon continued to approach him from all sides.

 _This really isn't good._ A Beldum from the front reached its range of attack, and after a moment of concentration, it rushed towards Kirito head first with a reckless charge. The Double Edge struck him squarely in the back and knocked him backwards, dealing more than twice the damage of the first attack. Kirito still hadn't lost much health in the grand scheme of things, but he was beginning to become desperate. Swinging his sword savagely back towards the front, he began deleting any Pokémon he could as quickly as possible.

Kiriko apparently had been able to read the situation. {Master, I will protect your body from any Pokémon that get in range while Chardcore and Estelle clear the ranks approaching you with their ranged attacks. If Chardcore runs out of Flamethrower and Ember then he and I will switch places. We will protect you with our lives.}

Kirito was thankful for the protection, but he didn't see an end to the Pokémon streaming into the room. If he wanted to make it out then he needed to clear a path towards the exit. He hadn't seen the Magnemites use any electric moves so he could assume that they would only use Tackle. This was confirmed moments later as one of the Magnemites charged him with its body, dealing damage in the process. _Okay, the key is to avoid the Beldums since they do 2-3 times more damage. I'm at a high enough level that I think I can make it out of the room without dying if I play my cards right, but I need to get to that door._

As he and his Pokémon began to progress steadily and slowly towards the exit while unloading attacks, Kirito was forced to change his estimates. At this rate, he had maybe a 50% chance of making it out alive, he thought as another Magnemite slammed into his body. Still he had to try. After all, something unexpected might yet happen. Maybe his Charmeleon would evolve 6 levels ahead of when it should and he would fly out of the room on its back as it rained down fire from above. While Kirito was fighting and having delusions, something unexpected really did happen.

Near the entrance to the door, Kirito could faintly make out the sound of sword on metal and someone, or multiple people, calling his name. There could be only one possibility of who it was. For a second, Kirito's heart soared in elation that he had people willing to rescue him, before realizing how dangerous this was. The worst of his fears came true as he began to see the Pokémon near the doors begin to turn away from him. _Oh god, they aren't programmed to kill the one who triggered the trap, they're programmed to kill humans._

He tried to shout towards the others to leave him to die but it was no use. The mechanical whirring and buzzing was too loud for his voice to make it through, and he was forced to continue fighting.

Near the doorway, the Moonlit Black Cats advanced. "Kirito has to be the one in the middle, and it seems like he's heading our way. If we meet him halfway we can surround him and get us all out of here."

"We can do this! These Pokémon aren't any stronger than the ones we train against."

As the group charged forward, they had forgotten to factor one thing into their plans, the Pokémon were still streaming into the room behind them and they were their first targets. They had enjoyed success against the Pokémon already in the room when they had been heading towards Kirito, but as the group began to attract aggro, they started to take attacks as well.

"Oomph, guys look out, behind us! Those things with one red eye hit really hard." Their advancement halted as they began to attack in a circle around themselves while still trying to make their way further into the room. Kirito began to pick up his pace as he worried that he wouldn't make it to the Moonlit Black Cats in time. If taking a few more hits would allow him to reach them then it was well worth the risk. Unfortunately, taking a few more hits was not an option for the underleveled Black Cats.

Ducker was the first to die, as a powerful Takedown to the gut crit him and ended his life. Despite the words of the Moonlit Black Cats earlier, none of them were truly ready to face death at their age. Tetsuo and Sasamaru screamed as Ducker went down and began fighting more violently. Their Pokémon went into overdrive as well and did everything they could to protect their trainers. The hole in their formation left by Ducker proved to be a problem however, and the group didn't have enough battle experience to change their formation and plug the leak in time.

As Kirito watched in misery and disbelief, a Magnemite came crashing into Tetsuo's back, followed by another. Sachi's shield bashed into a Beldum ready to charge, but a Klink attacked from her blind spot and she was forced to whirl around to confront it. Moments later, a two-pronged attack by two Beldum smashed into Sasamaru simultaneously, and Kirito would never forget the expression on the boy's face as he produced a wordless scream before fading into the void.

Kirito desperately tried to reach them, completely ignoring the Magnemite that had just hammered into his body in favor of slashing his way forwards. There was nothing he could do though to help Tetsuo in time, as the boy's anguished cries lingered while his health plummeted to zero.

 _I have to save her, if I can only save her I'll gladly give up my life,_ Kirito thought while barely holding back tears. He couldn't afford to lose his vision of her right now. Getting closer to where she stood, he began to reach his arm out above the hostile horde as though to grab her hand. She was fighting with her sword and shield as though she had used them since Day One, but her health was still decreasing too fast. Realizing this, she turned to face him.

"SACHI.. SACHI"

Kirito's voice was still drowned out by the deafening noise around him. He bucked and shook the opponents off of him as tried to make it closer to her, only to whimper when Sachi dropped her sword and shield to the ground.

Her face, which he had only just hours ago been mere inches from, was too far away for him to reach. Despite the horror of the situation and the Beldums and Magnemites impacting with her body, she had a wistful smile on her face. Her eyes carried no sense of fear, but rather, had a warm, peaceful glow to them. Her lips parted to speak, and Kirito was reminded of the feeling they'd imparted on his own when they'd been together just earlier that day. He couldn't hear her last words to him, but the memory of her saying them would surely replay itself in Kirito's mind thousands of times as he sought some final sense of meaning or understanding from them. He could only watch as the image of the girl who he'd come to empathize with, learn about, and love, broke down into millions of brilliant shards of light in front of him in slow motion. Her eyes closed as she accepted her death, and Sachi was no more.

In unbridled rage and despair, Kirito slashed everything in front of and around him with his sword as though he were a machine. He did not know how long he fought the endless Pokémon near him as he approached the point at which his friends had died and past over it, and he didn't bother to look at his own health bar. His Pokémon fought valiantly beside him, but soon, Kirito lost the motivation to fight for his own life. _What's the point anymore,_ he thought dejectedly as a Beldum approached him for the final Takedown that would surely end his life. {Master, if you die here then your friends will have died for nothing. I know you're hurt, but don't do them the dishonor of making their sacrifice meaningless. Get a hold of yourself.}

While Kiriko's words were true, Kirito just didn't have it in him to fight anymore, it made him feel sick. As the Beldum began its charge, Kirito closed his eyes and imagined being home, somewhere where he wouldn't have to fight for his life for no reason or watch his friends die in front of him. _Is this how animals feel when they spend their whole lives being hunted? I was so naïve about life, I didn't really understand anything and took everything for granted. Maybe I'll do a better job in the next one and I'll get to see her again._

The sound of a blade slashing through the approaching Beldum and the feeling of someone grabbing him by his jacket and pulling him out of the room broke Kirito out of his daze. As his savior followed him out of the room, the beeping alert sound finally stopped ringing. Rather than continuing their attack, the remaining Pokémon inside of the room began heading back toward the picture frame from which they came. As Kirito watched with wet eyes, the boy next to him spoke.

"What the hell happened in their Kirito? I'm guessing you tried to take the Master Ball. Your friend Argo came by and warned us it was a trap. I couldn't find the rest of the gang when I got back so I came here on my own…"

As the room began to clear and the picture frames began to close one by one, one Pokémon remained in the room. The Pokémon, with a skull covering half of its head and a bone in one of its hands, was huddled on the floor crying.

"Wait, no no no no no this can't be happening. Kirito, please tell me, please tell me everyone didn't just die in there trying to save you. I'm begging you, tell me that didn't happen."

Keita approached Kirito, who was too stunned to say a word, with tears beginning to form in his eyes.

"All of my friends, the ones I was with from the start of the game, all of them, gone? No good byes, no dying in battle fighting together, just gone? I knew Tetsuo and Ducker since we were little kids, and they're gone without a word because of a fucking video game?"

As tears continued to fill up in Keita's eyes while he spoke, his words became progressively nastier. "And you, hahahaha you, the one who they died trying to save. You lying son of a bitch. You lied about your level to us, lied about being in the boss fights, and even didn't tell us you were in the goddamned beta test. Why? Tell me why you did it? Was it to protect all of us or for some other misguided reason? Cause my friends sure don't seem protected right now, do they?"

"Keita, I-"

"Save it, I don't want to hear your shitty excuses. Why would you tell Sachi where you were going if you didn't want her to follow you? You killed them, you killed them all. It doesn't matter to me if you did it by hand or it was an accident, the result is the same. There's a word for people like you, I never thought being one was such a bad thing, but I'm beginning to understand it now, you filthy beater."

Kirito closed his eyes, that last jab had stung. Not the beater part, he didn't care about that. But he knew deep down that it was his fault they were all dead. He lied, he told Sachi where he was going, he had triggered the trap. It was all his fault, he couldn't deny it. Not Kayaba's, not Team Aqua's, the fault was all his. As though able to see that Kirito had taken it to heart, Keita quit ranting. He turned around and walked into the trap room and picked up the Cubone carefully, his tears still spilling out of his eyes as he walked back to Kirito with it.

Setting the Pokémon down at his feet, Keita said one final thing to Kirito.

"I'll never forgive you, I hope you remember this for the rest of your life."

Taking his sword and holding it in front of himself, Keita murmured, "See you on the other side guys," before plunging the blade deep into his own stomach. Kirito could only watch helplessly as the boy's health drained to nothing, unable to avert his eyes. Seconds later, he was the only person alive in the room, the only survivor of the Moonlit Black Cats. If he'd ever really been one to begin with. Alone with the Cubone and his crippling guilt, Kirito bawled his eyes out. He cried and cried and cried like he was a little kid, his tears merged with the Cubone's, soaking the floor until the Cubone reached the end of its time limit and disappeared as well. He couldn't bear to catch it, the guilt of seeing it every day would just eat away at him even more.

After the Cubone's death, he finally began to regain his composure. Picking himself up, he returned his Pokémon to his Pokélink and walked back to the warp pad. He would never truly be the same again.

* * *

 **This chapter has a lot in it so I'd love to hear anyone's thoughts about it. Sorry to anyone who wanted this to be a happy fanfic/Sachi fans but I think the Moonlit Black Cats storyline is too important for Kirito's development to change it up much. I think the biggest changes from canon (character-wise) are Heathcliff and PoH. With Heathcliff, there isn't a lot of information about how he became a lead clearer and his vision isn't to build a floating castle in the sky anymore, so I think variations in his character and motivations are fine. I did make PoH a bit smarter than I thought he was in canon. In Alicization, PoH seems like he's outclassed in the mental aspects and planning by Gabriel (although Gabriel is a psychopathic genius to be fair). He seems to be a bit more devious in Progressive though, so I don't think this is necessarily too far off the mark. He's a bit less bloodthirsty for now but he wasn't murdering people left and right at the start of SAO either, and seemingly preferred to set the clearers up to fight one another. Ultimately though, I just think this particular fic will be more interesting with a smarter PoH and it's a good way to get more of the Pokemon campaign quests involved in the plot.**


	13. Chapter 13

Rain continued to drizzle down on the man as he approached the designated meeting place, soaking him from head to toe. If he was bothered by it though, then he showed no signs of it. Rather, as he trudged through the slightly muddy trail, his only annoyance was how the sensation of rain felt somewhat different than it had back in the real world. It was difficult to put a finger on what the difference was, perhaps the water didn't soak his clothes quite as thoroughly or the individual raindrops didn't cling to his skin in the same way as they dripped down his face. Nevertheless, it was noticeably different just as the baths were, and it had the unfortunate effect of reminding players that they were only in a game. Due to the nature of the game, he had no reason to take a bath which was an easy remedy to that problem, but the rain was unavoidable if he intended to keep playing. If he'd had more time before the launch of the game, then he might have been able to devise a fix, but delaying the release of POW due to such a minor defect was out of the question.

A bolt of lightning shot down from the sky and the rain simultaneously increased in intensity. A sudden gust of wind blew a sheet of rain into his face as the lightning illuminated the surroundings. The trees were blown slightly back by the wind, and the sounds of the leaves rustling could barely be made out amongst the other sounds of the storm. Heathcliff merely continued to walk forward, not bothering to blink as the rain blew into his face. A loud bang of thunder followed the lightning a few seconds later but he paid it no mind, his eyes continued to constantly scan his surroundings and registered everything subconsciously while part of his mind wandered elsewhere.

 _I wonder how the rain would feel in the real world after spending a year inside the game. Perhaps it would feel just as unnatural and unfamiliar as this rain does now. If a child were to be raised inside this game for years before being exposed to real rain, would they think of this rain as real and the other a fake? Or is there something innately different between the two that would cause them to realize the original was actually the fake? If there were no difference between the rain in virtual reality and that in the real world, then perhaps the virtual world would become real. In a sense, one could argue that by existing within this virtual world with one's life on the line it becomes reality. Perhaps not for those stuck in the Town of Beginnings, but for the rest of the players, the line between the virtual and the real must be constantly changing in definition. Not that I plan to ever go b-_

Another flash of lightning disrupted his thoughts. No, it was not the lightning itself, but what it had revealed. Up ahead was the end of the path and the building at which the meeting between the top clearers would take place. Standing ahead of it were 2 wild Pokémon: a Palpitoad and a Prinplup. None of these things had surprised him however, he had already begun to see their outlines prior to the lightning lighting the sky as he approached. What he found more interesting was the quick swish of a green cloak slipping back behind the cover of a tree ahead of him. It had only appeared for barely a moment, but Heathcliff wasn't the type to doubt his own senses.

 _They intend to glean some sort of information about my Pokémon or fighting style from this situation I see. Well, that isn't at all surprising after a newcomer was the first to finish the guild quest. This rain doesn't benefit me at all though, the only super effective move I have against these Pokémon is Ferroseed's Seed Bomb and I'd rather not reveal any egg moves. I suppose I could just do it myself._

5 minutes later, a man in red and white clothing drenched in water entered the meeting hall with a full HP bar. Scanning the room, he found the remaining open seat around the round table right next to where his current second in command was currently sitting. As he took a seat, Lind, the head of one of the largest two guilds in the game, greeted him with a "You're late. Care to explain?"

Heathcliff's eyes swiveled around the room and lingered on Kibaou and the other members of his guild as he replied. "My apologies, I was informed that the route had been cleared of wild Pokémon, so you can imagine my surprise when I came across two right in front of the building."

"Hey, what're ye looking at me for? Does it look like I control the respawn timers?"

"It appears it is I who should be apologizing, I didn't mean to take an accusatory tone without knowing the full situation. Regardless, let's move forward with the meeting, this is no time to be arguing over something so trivial. Let's quickly introduce ourselves and proceed. I am Lind, the leader of the Divine Dragonite Alliance, and I am accompanied by my sub-leaders Hafner and Shivata."

"This just seems like an even bigger waste'a time. I'm Kibaou which you all know, and these here are my sub-leaders Hokkai Ikura and Melonmask. Er, oh yeah, our name is changing once our guild is official so call us the Kanto Gallade Brigade."

Heathcliff began to memorize their faces and appearances. He had already become acquainted with the sub-leaders of the DDA but he had not seen these men aside from possibly at the boss fight. Hokkai Ikura had a scar above his eye and was holding a trident, giving him a somewhat noble appearance, whereas Melonmask unsurprisingly wore a mask and carried a scimitar.

"I'm Orlando of the Legend Braves and my chaperone is named Beowulf. Might I ask what inspired the change in name Kibaou? You were formerly the Kanto Liberation Squad were you not?"

"It jus' didn't roll off the tongue well, besides, the DDA changed their name too. We wanted to think up a betta' name since it's permanent once our guild is official. Ain't that right Heathcliff?"

"Yes, that appears to be the case. I will introduce myself for those who don't know me. I am Heathcliff of the newly formed guild, the Knights of the Blood Oath. The red-haired gentleman beside me is my sub-commander Godfree. We are a small guild inferior in numbers to the Legend Braves but we hope to grow. Now, returning to your group's new name Kibaou, was it selected in part due to its initials?"

Kibaou scowled at Heathcliff while the trident user beside him took the chance to reply in his stead. "The KGB abbreviation is merely coincidental. We wished to include a green Pokémon in our name to fit our color scheme, and the Brigade ending allowed it to rhyme while also being an appropriate word. Furthermore, we felt it was necessary to stick to our roots so we decided not to remove the Kanto part. While I'm sure we'll be referred to as the KGB in private, we would appreciate it if you used our full name when our members are present and in official meetings."

"Well said," Lind responded, "now, if I might take this chance I'd like to continue to advance this meeting forward. Any more discussions about names can take place afterwards. We have one more person left to be introduced representing the solo players, though I'm sure you all already know him from his contributions to the raid boss battles."

The room became respectfully quiet as the last man in the circle rose from his seat to address the room. Standing over 6-feet tall, his stature was imposing despite it having no real effect on his combat ability in the virtual world. "Greetings, I'm Agil and I do believe I've had the pleasure of meeting everyone here before. Apparently I'll be representing the solo players since no one else volunteered to come. Hell, even my buddies just said good luck and abandoned me here."

That drew a few chuckles from the rest of the assembly and eased some of the tension. Agil sat back down in his chair as the introductions drew to an end and the main course of the meeting began.

"Thank you Agil. For now, let's discuss the pressing issue of the new weather conditions which I'm sure everyone is aware of by now. Shivata, if you would."

"For the past week and a half, weather conditions have deteriorated with a great increase in storms and droughts. These conditions have real impacts on battles due to the increase or decrease in power of Water and Fire-type attacks depending on the condition. While we first assumed the conditions were a fluke, the continuous fluctuations in the weather have made it clear that it is not the case. This has proved troublesome for some trainers who have teams weak in certain weather environments, and more importantly, the two most direct routes to the next raid boss area have been flooded. The main purpose for this meeting is to decide on a safe way to reach the next area in order to move forward in clearing the game. As it is an issue that affects all of the clearers, we decided it would be best to get input from all of the top guilds while deciding on countermeasures."

"Fair enough, would you care to share your ideas on the situation first? It seems that you already have some notion of how to proceed if you've called this meeting."

"Yes we do," Hafner responded to Heathcliff. "We have come up with two ideas of how to proceed. Namely, continue on directly despite the flood or go around it. There are issues with both of these ideas. To proceed directly through, we would certainly need the HM Surf. The HM Surf is thought to be attainable by defeating the leader of the Sootopolis Gym, Juan. However, this gym battle is by no means a pushover. The leader's Pokémon are all level 40 or above, higher than even the top clearers whose Pokémon are currently in the mid 30's. Furthermore, even if some people were able to defeat him, the majority of the clearers would be unable to and only a few people could make their way to the new raid boss. This would be an extremely risky strategy."

"Strategy?! That's not a strategy it's suicide. It ain't even an option!"

"We agree Kibaou, I was simply stating both options for the sake of discussion. The current strategy we had decided upon is to take the long route to the next area. This too has risks however. The route is largely unexplored as the beta testers had no need to use it, and the weather conditions will still be in effect which could make battles unpredictable. If solo players or small groups try to make their way through without proper preparation then they could end up dying, which would be devastating considering the current size of the clearing group. As a result, we think one or two elite groups of top players should be assigned to map the area in order to maintain a margin of safety and inform others on how to proceed through safely. This meeting is the perfect place to create a group for this purpose."

"Now hold up just a second, while option 2 sounds just fine and dandy, let's at least discuss option 3 before we decide on anything."

"Option 3?"

"What's this option 3 you're talking about Agil."

"Well for starters, shouldn't we discover what caused the weather conditions to change in the first place? The beta testers said nothing like this ever happened in the beta, but from what I hear it's consistent with the story of one of the Pokémon games. If it's supposed to be stopped in a certain way then maybe we should figure out how."

"Very good point Agil," Lind said while rubbing his chin. "The issue though is we know exactly what two Pokémon could have started these weather conditions and trying to stop them would be more dangerous than having all of the clearers challenge Juan. I assume you've heard of Groudon and Kyogre before? We could send a whole raid at them and still might lose, so I think it's best to go with option 2."

"If I might impose," Godfree cut in, "I've heard a rumor that the release of Groudon and Kyogre was caused by the activities of the NPC organizations Team Aqua and Team Magma. Perhaps we should create a team to monitor the activities of criminal groups or work on clearing the campaigns?"

"An NPC monitoring group? You can't be serious."

"That seems a bit silly to me too."

"While I appreciate the idea Godfree, our groups have enough on our plates with the guild quests and reaching the next Raid Boss. We also have no evidence that an NPC organization caused the changes in weather, so spreading ourselves thin for such a reason isn't currently feasible."

"To add on to what Lind said, there's no evidence that these events aren't just part of the game. We've seen many changes from the beta test and there's no reason to assume NPC's are causing them aside from some baseless assumptions. For all we know that bastard Kayaba wanted to spring more difficulties on us."

"A point well-made Shivata, I wholeheartedly agree. I just felt it was important to mention in case it might be relevant."

"Thank you for bringing it to our attention. For now, is there anyone opposed to proceeding with option 2? I know we haven't spent long discussing it but if anyone has any problems with it feel free to bring them up now or once we begin discussing specifics."

"Option 2 is the only realistic method, I doubt anyone is in opposition."

"Okay, would anyone be willing to volunteer to lead the exploratory groups? As the leader of the DDA I am unable to participate until the guild quest is finished, but some of my top officers have told me they are willing to go in my stead."

"The Legend Braves are in a similar position, we had been focusing on attaining individual gym badges and have just now begun the guild quest. I can volunteer one or two of my members to join the group though and I can guarantee they will meet any expectations regarding levels and fighting ability."

"The Kanto Gallade Brigade is in the same boat. How the hell'd you finish the guild quest yet anyways Heathcliff? You got beta testers in your guild?"

"Not that I know of, but if I did I would still not divulge that information. I happen to respect the privacy of my guild members in their personal affairs as long as they behave according to guild regulations. Regardless, I asked the Rat for information, just as the rest of you did I presume. My guild simply focused all of our efforts on finishing the guild quest before working on other projects."

"Tch, figures. Where is the Rat anyways? I figured she'd be all over this meeting."

"Apparently she couldn't attend due to a personal reason. Getting back to the matter at hand, would Heathcliff or Agil mind leading the exploration groups? We need information on the Pokémon spawns on the route and the most prevalent status conditions to ensure safety for the weaker members trying to make it to the next area. Without this info, the clearing group will only keep shrinking."

"While I think this is a great idea and I'm willing to participate myself with a few friends, I'm unfortunately not the leadership type like you seem to think I am. I would feel much more confident with Heathcliff leading, I'm still getting a grip on fighting in different weather conditions after all."

"As the only guild leader of the clearing group available I have no qualms with managing the group. However, to maintain a margin of safety we'll need approximately 12 members which would require 2 leaders. I have someone in mind to help me, but if they refuse I may ask for your assistance Agil. You won't have to do much."

"Fine with me."

* * *

Argo sat on a chair in a small inn, waiting for Kirito to show up. She hadn't seen him in a while and was wondering how to greet him to make him laugh. Her Ambipom and Raticate scampered around the table chasing after one another, making her giggle despite it being such a common occurrence. She had been training another Pokémon as well but wanted to keep it a secret for now. Besides, she wanted to see how P Diddy Kong and Wormtail would greet their newly evolved friends. They hadn't played together for a while but she was sure they would remember each other.

 _He should be getting here soon, I had no idea we'd be seeing so little of each other after the Rock Smash tutorial. If I'd known I wouldn't have ditched him so early. Wait, this isn't my fault, he's the one who's been avoiding me! I'll have to properly scold him when I see him. Ah, think of the devil… Does that phrase work?_

"Yo Kii-bou, long time no see. You been avoiding me or what? And where's my girl Kiriko, we need to catch up! You can bring out your psychic disciple and the salamander too."

Despite Argo's cheery tone, she noticed right away that something wasn't right with Kirito. As he walked in and sat down opposite her, his hair mostly covered his eyes but she could still make out dark bags hanging from them. After giving her a clearly forced smile, he mostly looked down towards the ground as though to avert his gaze from her. _What happened to him?_

"Nice to see you Argo. Unfortunately I don't have time to catch up or have a Pokémon playdate right now. I need information and you said you'd only give it to me in person, so here I am."

"Busy as ever I see. Or rather, busier than ever. Is something wrong Kirito? You might not know it but I actually write love advice columns for magazines back in the real world. If you need any help with that cute girlfriend of yours or anything else I'm here to help."

When Argo mentioned Kirito's 'girlfriend', she noticed a variety of emotions run across his face which she couldn't identify, but he quickly calmed himself and changed his expression back to normal. _I must have hit the nail on the head. When this is over I'll snoop up some information about that girl. What was her name again? Oh yeah, Sachi._

"I'll keep that in mind, thanks. Anyways, do you have any information on what I asked about?"

"Yeah I do, but you're not gonna like it. For starters, the water gym seems like it's still the same as in the beta. Another former beta tester I'm in contact with fought one of the trainers there and nearly got himself killed, so it's safe to bet that the gym leader is on another level. Probably low to mid 40's for his Pokémon. You better forget about challenging it. No matter how much you've trained up your Pokémon there's no way its within your margin of safety right now."

"Got it, I won't think about challenging it yet then. More importantly, what about the legendaries?"

"Well, here's the thing. Nothing's for sure yet, but judging from the weather patterns it seems like they're on a collision course to meet at Sootopolis City. If I had to guess when, I'd say late tomorrow or maybe the day after that. So unless you've got some surefire method of stopping them that you're holding out on, then you better not go near that city. All they've done so far is change up the weather a bit which isn't seriously hurting anyone. I know you like to play the hero but there's no chick for you to rescue this time."

Kirito visibly winced at that last line and his face seemed to go pale. _Did I go too far? No, I don't want him hurting himself, I can be a bit rough if I need to be. What was that reaction though?_ As Kirito stood up, his face returned to normal and he forced another smile to his face.

Swiping open his menu to send her the agreed upon Pokéyen total, he pushed back his chair and said, "I see, thanks a lot Argo. That's a load off my mind. I could use some sleep anyways so there's no point trying to do the impossible for no reason. I'll catch you later."

As he walked towards the door, Argo quickly stood up and grabbed the back of his jacket. "I'm serious Kii-bou, you don't look so hot. Get some rest, there's no need to be leveling up so frantically if you can't even participate in the boss fights. Promise me that next time we meet up you'll let our Pokémon play a bit. P Diddy Kong gets lonely only having rats for company you know."

Kirito nodded his head as she let go of his jacket. "Sure thing Argo, I'm sure it'd make Kiriko happy too. Next time I see you we'll set up a Pokédate. Well I'm off, can't catch up on sleep if I'm here talking with you haha."

With that Kirito strode out of the inn and opened his menu while walking briskly. "I miss you Kii-bou, what happened to you?" she whispered to herself as he disappeared from her field of vision.

 _Wait, did he just say "haha"? What the hell was that? Maybe things are more serious than I thought. He said he lost a Pokémon he'd been training and wasn't able to stop Team Aqua when he fought them at their hideout, but maybe it was more serious than that. I need to check up on his guild straight away. They seemed like they were farming well within their safety margin when I met them but I didn't think to check up on them after the boss battle. Well, can't exactly blame myself for that with all that's been happening. Information gathering on how the new weather changes affect the route as well as the new gym badges available after the boss battle isn't easy at all. Still, that stuff comes second to helping out a friend._

* * *

Kirito continued to make his way through the icicle maze that made up the Sootopolis Gym. He had already dropped down to the lower levels to fight the trainers there in order to gain experience prior to the final fight, and he had refilled his Pokémons' health and PP afterwards. All that was left was the gym leader, Juan. This fight would no doubt be more difficult than the fight against Maxie. Thinking back, Argo would have definitely stopped him from doing this if she knew about it, but it must seem too crazy for her to even consider. He was underleveled for this fight and beating it early didn't offer much in terms of benefit.

 _Speaking of which, it doesn't seem like Argo bought my fake smile I worked on. I thought It looked okay in the mirror, but they say that emotions in this game are more readily conveyed than they are in real life. Oh well, it's not like a depressed teenager in a death game is going to draw much attention. I'll just stay away from Argo and Asuna. It's better that way anyways._

{Master, don't you think you're bearing this burden upon yourself too much. Surely you should rely on your friends in times like these.}

{Argo isn't my friend, she's an info broker. She may be the best there is but I can still find another one. Besides, this is good for her, being my friend seems to have a high mortality rate.}

{The boss is right, the owner of a Charizard should be as battle-hungry as his Pokémon. Let's crush this worthless water gym once and for all.}

{You have the tact of a wild boar Chardcore. You do realize it's not normal for a human to spend over 20 hours a day training, right? Even you must get tired.}

{Not everyone deals with grief the same way Kiriko. Me and the boss just keep fighting and punch through our guilt. Feelings are something to be overcome.}

{Can't you see this isn't healthy for him? He hasn't smiled once since Sachi died.}

{Shut up you guys, I don't need your pity or opinions on my mental health right now. What we need to talk about is how to take down Juan. He has a rain team which could be difficult to take down without the level advantages. Luckily, we made some new additions to our team so I think we have a chance at winning, but it all hinges on if we can take out his Kingdra.}

{Master, sacrificing Pokémon to achieve victory… are you sure you want to win like this?}

{It's not about what I want, I need to win this battle. People could die from these weather changes.}

{Yes, but this is nearly suicidal, and people are already adjusting to the changes.}

{The route to the next raid boss is blocked off too.}

{You know as well as I do that there's an alternate route.}

{Kyogre and Groudon will meet tomorrow and God knows what will happen then.}

{This game isn't unfair. Whatever happens there won't b-}

{Fair? You think this game is fair? Fair doesn't apply to a game that traps you against your will. Was what happened to Sachi fair? Will the families of the Moonlit Black Cats be fine knowing their loved ones died because the game was balanced? After all it wasn't the game or Kayaba's fault they died, it was..}

{Master… I'm sorry. I didn't mean-}

{It's fine,} Kirito thought as he wiped tears from his cheeks. {You're right after all, I'm sacrificing Pokémon out of my own selfishness. Groudon and Kyogre aren't going to kill everyone in this game, but even so. If defeating them helps even one person, then maybe this sense of guilt inside me will go away just a little.}

"How unsightly, a crying boy come to challenge my gym. This is no place for children."

Kirito had been walking while discussing things mentally with his Pokémon and only now realized that he had come face to face with the gym leader. The man in front of him had a rapier at his side and elegant blue clothing that went well with his sharp, accentuated eyebrows. His hair was mostly black, but he had two white plumes of hair in the very front. Despite his dashing appearance, the man was the oldest gym leader Kirito had faced off against.

"A Pokémon battle is first and foremost a battleground. It is no place for the weak of will. I would suggest you step out of the ring now if your heart is not prepared for a fight to the death. My Pokémon will show you no mercy in battle after all. I will warn you that I taught the former Pokémon League Champion Wallace everything he knows about Pokémon."

Kirito wiped his eyes once more and regained his composure. Steeling himself for battle, Kirito prepared to take on his opponent.

"If you're such a skilled trainer then surely you can give me a handicap. A weak little boy like myself could hardly be a match for the likes of you."

Wallace smiled and assented. "Very well, Pokémon battling is secondly an art form after all. Commanding the pieces like a conductor is the best way to enjoy the show. Each Pokémon is like an instrument, playing its own individual piece that comes together to make a beautiful symphony. Are you ready to begin our battle?"

 _He's probably programmed to always sit out the battle if the opponent is underleveled, but it's better not to take any chances. I wanted to go over the plan once more with my Pokémon but oh well, they already know the plan anyways._

"Ready when you are" Kirito said while releasing 3 additional Pokémon from his Pokélink.

Joining his original 3 Pokémon were a Minun, a Ludicolo, and a Bellossom. He had paid a fair amount of Pokéyen to obtain a Sun Stone to evolve a Gloom, but fortunately he'd obtained the water stone for Lombre from a drop. He had acquired these Pokémon almost entirely for this fight. Luckily, all 3 of them could be helpful as support Pokémon if they survived the battle, especially if the current weather conditions continued. Bellossom had the ability Chlorophyll which boosted its speed in the sun and Ludicolo had Swift Swim which had the same effect in the rain. On the other hand, they were too underleveled to pose any real threat to the enemy team, but Kirito had based his plan around this.

Kiriko had taken the form of a Frillish, a Water/Ghost type Pokémon that had the ability Water Absorb. In this game, Water Absorb only halved the damage of water type attacks as having Pokémon immune to enemy attacks was a balance problem. The ability and typing of the Pokémon would still discourage Juan from focusing his attacks on it though. More importantly, Frillish could be taught Dark Pulse, so it should be able to get off a number of attacks before the enemy team began to release it was actually a disguised Zoroark. The linchpin of Kirito's plan depended on Gothorita though.

On Juan's side were a Luvdisc, a Whiscash, a Sealeo, a Crawdaunt, and a Kingdra. All of them were higher leveled than most of his Pokémon but the Kingdra was at an especially high level with a dangerous moveset to boot.

As soon as the battle started, Kirito's Pokémon leapt right into action. His Charizard was sure to attract attention, and as a result it would be employing hit-and-run tactics of attacking from afar and attempting to escape from any counter engages. It shot an air slash at Crawdaunt before dodging a Water Pulse and moving away from the rest of his team. He himself would be staying at the back with his Gothorita which would be using supportive moves while the rest of the team moved in pairs.

Critically, his Bellossom was able to get off a Poison Powder onto the enemy Kingdra, who had just begun to use Double Team, and his Ludicolo got off a Leech Seed onto the enemy Whiscash. This was the bare minimum needed to give Kirito a fighting chance however, as his team was still at a major disadvantage. Finding a Lombre with the egg move Leech Seed had been a stroke of luck for Kirito. His Ludicolo needed to stay alive and serve as a distraction while his original team racked up damage on their opponents. As Kirito watched, his Zoroark landed a Helping Hand-boosted Dark Pulse onto the Luvdisc dealing half of its health in damage. Helping Hand was a support type move learned by Minun that would boost the damage of a teammate's attack.

Juan showed no signs of discomfort however, and sat unperturbed watching the battle as rain began to fall from clouds that had accumulated near the ceiling. The Whiscash's Rain Dance had completed, and the battle would become far more difficult from here. The Kingdra was still boosting its evasion with Double Team, and with its speed boosted by Swift Swim it would be very difficult to hit it with any attacks. The poison status inflicted on it was Kirito's saving grace.

With his Ludicolo's speed increased by the rain as well and it having super effective attacks to damage the enemy team with due to its Grass-typing, it became a natural target for attacks. Furthermore, it was continuously draining health from the enemy Whiscash with Leech Seed. As expected, an Aurora Beam shot forth from the enemy Sealeo but was met by Ludicolo's Protect, which prevented it from taking serious damage from the Ice-type attack. Protect wouldn't fully block out damage from enemy attacks in this game, but if the attack was blocked correctly it would decrease the damage taken by a lot.

His Minun had created a life-like double with the move Substitute to take an attack for it as well, but it was near instantly erased by a Water Pulse from the Luvdisc which had become much more agile in the rain. A Dark Pulse fired off by his Zoroark barely missed it, but fortunately flew past it and into the enemy Whiscash. The Whiscash took less damage than expected though, having just boosted its Special Defense stat using Amnesia. It would be difficult to kill as most of his team didn't use physical attacks, and Kirito planned to save it for last.

As Kirito watched through his 'mind's eye', his Bellossom took massive damage from a water attack despite its Grass-typing and his Ludicolo took more damage than one would expect as well. His Zoroark landed another Dark Pulse, assisted by his Minun, onto the Sealeo for significant damage and Kirito was sure that Juan had begun to realize his misdirection. Furthermore, the Kingdra had finished boosting its evasion to the max and was ready to inflict massive damage while being nearly untargetable.

Fortunately, this was what his plan revolved around. Readying himself for the battle sure to come, Kirito ordered the rest of his team to help him protect Gothorita. The Kingdra in front of him began to close its eyes to use the move Rest, which would restore its health completely while removing its status conditions. Kirito knew it had been equipped with a Chesto Berry for exactly this purpose so that it would wake up as soon as its health was restored, and the Kingdra with max evasion would rampage throughout the battlefield. With its boosting finished and its health below half due to the poison damage, he couldn't allow it to fully restore its health.

{Estelle, use Heal Block and Embargo now.}

While Kiriko could have tried to use Taunt onto the Kingdra instead, its high evasion would have allowed it to evade the single-target attack. Heal Block and Embargo worked differently though. They were both moves that affected the entire battlefield, and they would prevent any healing moves from being used and any items from being used respectively. In essence, Gothorita had prevented the Kingdra from healing itself or being healed by Juan for as long as the moves remained active. Obviously, there had to be a drawback for such a powerful technique in a battle though. The drawback was that the moves had to be channeled, and Gothorita would be unable to move from its position or attack as long as the moves were in effect.

{Everyone else, help me provide cover for Estelle.}

The Kingdra's eyes opened back up and Juan realized that the Rest hadn't completed. Opening his menu and confirming that he couldn't heal his Pokémon's status condition either, he gave a bemused smile.

"Quite the interesting strategy you have there, you must have heard of my team and prepared beforehand. Your Pokémon don't seem up to snuff though, let's see how they handle an all-out Water-type offensive in the rain."

With that, all 5 of Juan's Pokémon began to approach the Gothorita while attacking with a flurry of Water Pulses. Kirito's Bellossom was the first casualty as it was struck directly by an Outrage attack from the Kingdra, an extremely strong Dragon-type attack. Knowing that the Kingdra's time was limited and that attacks would be unlikely to hit it anyways, Kirito ordered his Pokémon to focus other targets and went after the Luvdisc himself. It was a very nimble target but its health had been chunked below half. A Dark Pulse flew towards its left flank, and Kirito aimed his attack towards the right side where he knew it would be forced to dodge. A successful Vertical Arc eliminated the first of Juan's Pokémon from the field, but the remaining threats were still raining carnage on his team.

Minun's Substitute was destroyed, Kiriko's illusion broken, and Lombre's health hit zero. The defensive barrier they had made surrounding Gothorita was breaking down fast, but it only needed to be maintained for a bit longer as the Kingdra's HP bar had fallen below 10%. Noticing that his Kingdra was on its last legs, Juan instructed it to fire off a Water Pulse at the Gothorita. Jumping in the way of the attack, Kirito used his sword to deflect what he could of it and took the rest of the damage himself.

Fortunately, the tides of battle were shifting once more. The Kingdra finally succumbed to the poison damage and fainted, while his Minun was able to use Helping Hand once more to boost the power of Kiriko's Night Slash as she dealt heavy damage to the Whiscash. Seizing the opportunity, Kirito had Chardcore finish it off with a Wing Slash, but it came at the price of a Crabhammer to the wing from the Crawdaunt. Chardcore just barely managed to survive the powerful Water-type attack, but at least 90% of its HP was gone. Even worse, Juan's other remaining Pokémon, Sealeo, had just fired off an Aurora Beam at the Charizard that it would be unable to avoid.

{Chardcore, Endure!}

Charizard braced itself for the attack and managed to withstand the damage which would surely have been fatal otherwise. Taken down to 1 HP, Kirito hastily returned Chardcore to his Pokélink as the action began to stall out. Taking stock of the Pokémon remaining. Kirito had a full health Gothorita along with Zoroark and a vastly underleveled Minun facing off against a Sealeo and a Crawdaunt. The rainclouds had disappeared as well which was to Kirito's advantage, it looked like he would be able win the fight!

Juan seemed to acknowledge this as well, as he stood up and aimed his rapier at Kirito. "I commend your fighting ability, you have truly masterful control over your Pokémon. It would be remiss if I were to present you the Rain Badge without giving you a taste of my true strength however. Prepare yourself."

In an instant, Juan appeared before Kirito with a burst of speed and unleashed a flurry of deft jabs with his rapier. Kirito's concentration was consumed by defending and he hoped his Pokémon could win the rest of the battle without him. While they held the health lead though, their opponents had a typing advantage and were higher level. The best Kirito could do for now was to prevent Juan from getting involved.

Kiriko was locked in battle with the Crawdaunt, allowing Gothorita to land a Psybeam on the enemy Sealeo. The Sealeo's attention was turned towards Kirito himself however, and he was forced to jump backwards to dodge an Aurora Beam. This opened him up to a quick Linear from Juan which took a good chunk of his health and knocked him backwards into the wall. Kirito shuddered for a moment as he realized his health had fallen below half and Juan was clearly aiming to take his life.

 _So what if you're scared? You don't deserve the right to fear death. You told yourself you'd do at least this for them at any cost. As long as he doesn't crit, you have enough health to take one more attack. Let's make it count._

{Kiriko, faint towards the Crawdaunt and then focus Sealeo with Gothorita. We need to end this quick.}

As the Zoroark's Night Slash and the Crawdaunt's Crabhammer approached one another, Kirito pushed off from Juan's rapier using his blade and leaped towards the Crawdaunt. His desperate move paid off as Kirito's 4-hit sword skill Vertical Square struck the Crawdaunt directly in the center of its body and removed the last 35% or so of its health.

The retaliatory sword skill he took from Juan's Rapier did a similar amount of damage to himself though, and the final attack slammed him into a wall once more. Perhaps the accumulation of over-training, lack of sleep, and being slammed into two walls had finally taken its toll on Kirito, as his consciousness began to slip away from him. The last thing he remembered was seeing Juan approach him with his rapier to deliver the final blow while Estelle and Kiriko fought the Sealeo in the background… and then the world around him went black.

* * *

{Fu fu fu I can't get over it. Master, you must be the first person to win a gym battle while unconscious.}

{It is truly a sign of great psychic power to be able to achieve victory while sleeping.}

{Ugh, don't get the wrong idea Estelle. I just haven't been getting much rest. I'll cut 2 hours a day off of my training regimen once this is over.}

{Perhaps you should continue to sleep during battles. You have a perfect undefeated record against gym leaders while asleep after all Master.}

{Need I remind you that I have a perfect record while I'm awake too?}

{Yeah, but you've lost more limbs and Pokémon in battle when you've been conscious.}

{You're taking this a lot better than I thought Kiriko, I was sure you'd be all over my case for sacrificing Pokémon in battle.}

{Well, we wouldn't have realistically been able to beat him without their sacrifices…}

{That man's team was truly strong. I'm burning up with desire to fight him once more, but I must first overcome my weakness to water.}

 _Fat chance of that happening, you'd need to become part Dragon-type,_ Kirito thought to himself as he gazed at the water flowing serenely around him. After defeating Juan, he'd gained access to the HM Surf which allowed him to traverse through water. Surf was different than it had been in the Pokémon games though, as having Pokémon battles in water meant your team would be effectively limited to Water and Flying-type Pokémon. Instead, as long as you had a Pokémon with Surf in your party, selecting the option to Surf near water would summon a platform large enough for a person and his Pokémon to stand (or sit) on comfortably.

The platforms could be controlled to move in any direction but would be unable to fit in any small spaces, which effectively limited where players could go in the sea. Any trainer battles in the water would take place on the platforms, but Kirito had done his best to avoid them and had used Repels to avoid wild Pokémon as well. He needed to get to his destination as quickly as possible after his extended stay at the Sootopolis City Gym. Next to him, he heard the sound of stifled giggling.

{What is it now?}

{It's just.. I can't get over how Juan's face looked when he lost. He was giving a serious speech at first before he started to realize that you weren't getting up and then he had no idea what to do!}

{I'm just glad he still gave me the badge and TM when I woke up, I was worried the event would time out or something.}

Realizing that she was still a bit hyper, the Zoroark calmed herself before continuing on.

{Still, I'd prefer if you didn't take fights that you have no way of winning without making sacrifices. At least until we can obtain some Revives. Dying in battle is a Pokémon's fate, but going into an unnecessary battle to be nothing more than cannon fodder is a sad way to die.}

{I'm sorry Kiriko, this was something I had to do. After today, no more initiating battles I don't think I can win. How about that?}

{Why after today?}

{Well, urgh, where do you think we're Surfing to exactly?}

{I should have known. One question then, do you plan on sacrificing any Pokémon in this battle?}

{No I don't, but I can't guarantee our safety of course. In terms of battle strength, this opponent is far more powerful than Juan. Realistically, I don't think we can win, but I at least have to try to catch it.}

{Catch what?}

{There it is.}

Pointing in front of him, what came in to view was a column made of stone that was as large as a small skyscraper. Above the building in his HUD, 'Sky Pillar' appeared. Their opponent resided at the top of the structure.

{We're going to catch a building?}

{Look at how massive it is! Leader I'm all hyped up now for this battle.}

{Only Guru Kirito would think to capture an inanimate object.}

{No we're… all of you just be quiet.}

A few minutes later, Kirito and his Pokémon had made their way into the pillar and were walking up the winding stairs towards the top. Kirito had explained what they were going up against and their strategy already, and he was currently scrolling through his inventory searching for an item.

'Figy Berry, Flame Plate, Focus Sash, Fresh Water'

Remembering what he'd been searching for, he selected the Flame Plate and equipped it to his Charizard. The Flame Plate would increase the damage of Charizard's Fire-type moves. Though it would be unlikely to make a big difference against their next opponent, he needed every bit of damage possible if he wanted to stand a chance. While you could equip items at any time as long as you weren't in a trainer battle or boss battle in this game, he didn't want to waste precious time equipping it once the fight had begun.

Seeing a message notification from Argo pop up titled 'I had no idea ', he ignored it for the moment and closed his menu as he approached the end of the spiral staircase. Kirito then swallowed and pushed open the double doors leading to the rooftop. Walking through the doorway, the air outside was surprisingly calm considering how high up they were. In fact, there didn't seem to be any wind or noise at all up here. The peaceful atmosphere seemed more intimidating than calming from Kirito's perspective though; it just felt unnatural so high up.

A series of jutted rocks and small boulders blocked the path of Kirito and his Pokémon from going too far towards either side of the rooftop and seemed to direct them to a short set of stairs that gave off an air of finality. Climbing up the steps, Kirito blanched at the sight he beheld in front of him. A gigantic emerald green dragon with red and yellow lines making patterns across its body was curled up asleep in front of him. It had the form of a Chinese dragon with its long, slender body and it had arms with clawed hands near its front.

Seemingly sensing his presence, the dragon arose from its slumber. With a fearsome cry that seemed to rattle Kirito to his very bones, it opened its eyes and stared at the party standing before it. Despite having just woken up, the Rayquaza's beady yellow eyes seemed wide awake as it transfixed them with a piercing stare. Baring its fangs once more with another earth-shaking bellow, the Rayquaza effortlessly lifted itself from the ground and flew in a long circle as it stretched its body. Turning to face them once more, Kirito recognized that it was ready for battle and readied his own party as well.

Minun created a Substitute to protect itself while Gothorita launched a Future Sight attack, a psychic beam that dealt a lot of damage if it hit but took an extended period of time for the damage to register after the attack. Against an opponent with incredibly high health though, it was best to stack up as much damage as possible over time rather than to use instantaneous attacks that dealt less damage such as Psyshock or Psybeam. The rest of his team spread out as well and began shooting out long-ranged attacks.

Kirito readied himself to attack as soon as the Rayquaza came within striking distance, but he soon realized he'd been naïve. The first attack coming out from the Rayquaza was the ultimate dragon technique, Draco Meteor. From the sky above them, flaming comets rained down over a massive area, intending to wipe them all out with a single strike. Estelle and Kiriko had already been out of the way and were able to counterattack with another Future Sight and Dark Pulse, but Kirito and Chardcore were forced to sprint and fly as fast as they could respectively to get out of the way. The AOE attack slammed into the ground where they had just been, and despite being behind a Substitute, the Minun took so much residual damage from the powerful attack that it had all of its health wiped out in an instant.

 _This is worse than I imagined, a single attack wiped out one of my Pokémon and we've barely scratched its HP bar. I'm 99% sure we can't beat this thing, but even so, I've got to.. no, I have to do this._ Without breaking a stride, Kirito continued to sprint as fast as he could as he turned towards the Rayquaza and landed a two-hit sword skill before moving out of the way of any retaliatory attack ASAP. His Charizard had similarly rushed forwards with a Wing Attack but it wasn't quite as fast in its retreat. The Rayquaza chose it as the target of its next attack without a moment of hesitation, and a shockwave shot forwards from its mouth, nailing Chardcore directly in the back of its body.

The Charizard roared in pain as its health fell by nearly 80% and it tumbled to the ground. If not for the special attack drop from using Draco Meteor beforehand, the Dragon Pulse would have killed it in a single hit! Gritting his teeth in frustration, Kirito and his Zoroark rushed forward to land close-ranged attacks on the Rayquaza and chip away another small amount of its health, but it wasn't nearly enough. The Dragon Pulse also had a much lower delay than the Draco Meteor had prior to it, and before Kirito and Kiriko could begin to retreat, a giant ball of light began to form in the Rayquaza's mouth.

Opening its mouth wide, it prepared to shoot the blindingly white sphere of light mere feet from itself in an effort to cut off the escape route of its attackers. With rocks preventing them from escaping to either side of the attack and nothing to block it, the Hyper Beam would undoubtedly wipe their health bars out completely or come very close to it. Chardcore had taken nearly fatal damage from a Dragon Pulse after all and it was more durable than Zoroark. The more powerful attack that would soon hit them would certainly finish off Zoroark and possibly himself as well.

Looking at the Zoroark which was trying to frantically get out of the way of the impending doom signaled by the brilliant light originating from the Rayquaza's mouth, he saw fear in her eyes. The image in front of him shocked him, and as though time itself slowed down and morphed his reality, he saw a girl with black hair and a scared look on her face in front of him. The rocks shapeshifted into a horde of Magnemites and Klinks boxing her into the room, while from above, a Beldum shot towards her encased with light to deliver the Takedown that would reduce her to nothingness.

In despair as he imagined the girl he had come to love dying in front of him once more, Kirito could only wordlessly scream as his feet were stuck to the floor, unable to move. The girl's eyes turned towards him and despite the situation, changed from an expression of fear to acceptance. In his head, a voice spoke.

{Master, get out of the way! It's a Pokémon's duty to die for the one they served. It was an honor to be your partner, please don't let my sacrifice be meaningless by dying with me. Now go!}

Moving its body in between the Hyper Beam and its trainer in the few moments it had left, the Pokémon closed its eyes and readied itself for the death that was sure to come, a smile on its face. The image of the black-haired girl, smiling as her death approached, haunted Kirito once more as the lines between Kiriko and Sachi blurred in his vision.

 _Am I going to let this happen again? Am I powerless to do anything but watch everyone I love die because of my mistakes?_ Keita's dying words echoed through his mind, filling him with the regret that could only come from realizing that everything was his fault after all. _"You filthy beater.. you killed them, you killed them all.. you lying son of a bitch.. I'll never forgive you, I hope you remember this for the rest of your life."_

 _I don't want another friend to die, I just can't take it. If I can't do anything here again, then how could I possibly fight anymore, much less go back to the real world? Think, come on Kirito, THINK!_ A sudden realization came to Kirito, and hoping to the God of the virtual world that his plan would work, he swung his hand up and swiped open his menu faster than he ever had in his entire life. Choosing the inventory slot, the item he was looking for thankfully popped up on the screen in front of him without having to scroll at all. Promising to build a shrine for the virtual God if he got out of this alive, Kirito selected the item and equipped it to his Zoroark mere seconds before the Hyper Beam made contact and washed the roof in angelic light that ironically erased the vast majority of Kirito's health, leaving him with only a sliver left. Kirito and Kiriko were both blasted several feet back and landed on the ground right next to each other.

However, his efforts hadn't been in vain. Left with such a small sliver of health that she might die to a Magikarp's Splash attack, Kiriko had been saved by the Focus Sash which broke upon impact. The item prevented a Pokémon from dying to a single attack when at 100% health, and Kirito had been able to equip it at the last possible moment. If it had been a trainer battle, Kiriko would have undoubtedly died, but that didn't matter at the moment. Realizing what had happened, the Zoroark looked up at Kirito, the smallest of tears welling up in the corners of its eyes.

{Master, why? If you'd died we all would have died anyways. Why would you do something so reckless when you still have people back home who care about you? I thought you were fine with sacrificing Pokémon…}

{Kiriko, you're more than a Pokémon to me, you're my friend. I know it's stupid, you're just part of a game, but.. but still. I'd rather die than live with the guilt of letting another friend die in front of me. I'm sorry with coming up with this plan, I don't know what I was thinking.}

Sniffling and pressing her head into his lap, the Zoroark couldn't respond, and laid there with a smile on its face as Kirito softly pet its head. The lull in action was mostly caused by the cooldown period from the Rayquaza's Hyper Beam, which had left it in a state of having to recharge before it could attack again.

{Leader, I'll get back at that Pokémon for the wounds it has inflicted upon us right now while it's unable to attack. We will defeat it as a team and gain its power for ourselves.}

{Guru Kirito, I will follow your orders to continue attacking as soon as you give the word.}

{Hold off on that Chardcore, attacking it anymore isn't gonna do us any good. There's no way we can capture this thing.}

Gently lifting his Zoroark's head from his lap and resting it on the ground, Kirito stood and walked forward towards the Dragon-type Pokémon in front of him. The Pokémon was forced to watch as he approached, unable to move during its charging period, but eyes still brimming with hostility. Taking this opportunity to attempt his unlikely plan he had just come up with, Kirito stopped right in front of it and dropped his sword to the ground. Prostrating himself in front of it, he began to pray aloud.

"Rayquaza, please hear my wish. I only fought you to gain the power to stop Kyogre and Groudon. They're rampaging on the surface right now and their fight could cause innocent people and their Pokémon to die. It may not be any of my business, but very brave people sacrificed their lives because of my mistake. I can't live with myself knowing that I let those people who meant so much to me die for nothing, so I'm asking for your help. Please aid me in stopping Kyogre and Groudon. I'm begging you."

Kirito wasn't sure if the Rayquaza would understand him, and the nonexistent change in the Rayquaza's eyes as it recovered from its Hyper Beam attack convinced him that the end was near. Suddenly however, the sound of an explosion emanating from far away cut through the silence and the Sky Tower began to rattle ever so slightly. Turning to face the direction of the sound, the Rayquaza released its loudest cry yet, "EEEAAAUUHEEAAUH".

Kirito wasn't sure if the Rayquaza had accepted his plea or would naturally follow the noise of Groudon and Kyogre fighting, but he was relieved nonetheless. His relief turned to surprise as the Rayquaza turned to look at him quickly and lowered its body, seemingly to let him climb on. Shocked, Kirito returned his Pokémon to his Pokélink and jumped on top of the Rayquaza's back. The hard, sleek, scaly skin beneath him wasn't the most comfortable seat but he wasn't about to complain.

Taking off into the sky, Kirito finally realized how high up the Sky Tower had been. Looking down made him slightly dizzy knowing that the fall would kill him 10 times over. People weren't supposed to be able to ride, surf, or fly on Pokémon in this game. He knew that there had been plans announced to allow players to ride Pokémon in future games but it shouldn't be possible here. Perhaps this was a coded transport event and he would be unable to dismount the Rayquaza during this time. He had no inclination to test it out though after looking at the ground once more.

Deciding to revel in his temporary good fortune, Kirito took in the sights as the dragon took off into the sky and the wind rushed past him.

* * *

"No no, I get why we're using an alternate route to get to the next raid boss, and I understand why I was invited… But why am I suddenly one of the leaders? You're all in guilds and I'm a solo player."

At the moment, Asuna was confused as to why she was co-leading the expedition through the alternate route to the next raid boss. She had accepted the invitation to join since she wanted to help in any way she could to clear the game, but she hadn't been told she'd be partially in charge until she'd gotten there.

"Beats me," said Shivata, one of the sub-leaders of the Divine Dragonite Alliance. "Heathcliff just declared he had someone in mind and the Knights of Blood are leading this escapade. We had no choice but to accept."

"Err, but that just makes me even more confused. Isn't Godfree the second in command of the KOB? I'd think he should be the one leading."

"Ah, I think our leader intends to recruit you Ms. Asuna. He seemed to be very impressed with your performance at the recent boss battle."

"Then meet me in person and recruit me yourself," Asuna murmured under her breath. She understood why Heathcliff had asked for her help during the chaotic boss battle but this was too much.

"What was that? I apologize but I couldn't hear what you just said Ms. Asuna."

"J-Just call me Asuna; being called Ms. Asuna is a bit off-putting. More importantly, are you alright with this Godfree? I'm more than happy to let you take over command."

"While I thank you for your kind consideration, I will have to decline. Though I am the sub-commander of the KOB, I have not yet proven that I am fit for a leadership position through my actions in combat. Furthermore, what is most important for our guild right now is to recruit new members while putting in every effort to advance our progress in this game. Taking over the lead right now would be counterproductive."

 _Jeez, a simple 'No thanks' would have been fine. Is this how guild members talk to each other? I know Kirito told me I should join a guild eventually, but if all the people I like talking to like Argo and Liz aren't in guilds then there's not much of a point._

"Okay, fair enough. Moving on, I know Shivata and Godfree, but would the rest of you mind introducing yourselves? I'm Asuna… which you've probably already realized hahaha."

 _Waah, why did I just start nervously laughing?! Godfree must have put me in a weird place with all of that Ms. Asuna business but I came off looking straight sheepish._ Fortunately, the rest of the members didn't seem to notice nor care as they continued with their introductions.

"I'm Thinker of the Kanto Gallade Brigade. It's a pleasure to work with you," a tall and extremely skinny man with fuzzy brown hair announced. He had a bit of a baby face and struck Asuna as being the very opposite in appearance of the leader of the Army.

 _The DDA and the Army look so rigid and aggressive when they're competing with one another, but up close, Thinker and Shivata both just seem like normal guys. Wait, what guild did Thinker say he was part of?_

"One second, did the Army get a name change or are you in a different guild that wears primarily green?"

"I'm surprised you haven't heard, although the name change did just happen yesterday. The Army renamed themselves to be the Kanto Gallade Brigade. They gave some excuse about green Pokémon and rhyming but we all know Kibaou just wanted to be in the KGB," a large man said with a jovial laugh while Thinker jokingly hung his head in shame. "I haven't introduced myself yet, but I'm Lowbacca. We've probably fought together at some point. I'm part of Agil's 'Bro Squad'."

That only left one person, the young boy with an eyepatch over one eye that Asuna was most curious about. Realizing it was his turn, the boy spoke. "Umm, hi, I'm Nezha. I'm part of the Legend Braves and I'm, um, here to help!"

"Okay, that's enough for introductions. It appears we're taking the left path while the other group is taking the right path, but a group of 6 is still a bit difficult to battle with considering we aren't fighting a raid boss. We'll split into groups of 3 and if either group runs into trouble then call for help and we'll regroup as fast as we can. Nezha and Thinker will be part of my group while Godfree will lead the rest of you for now. Any objections?"

 _Wow, nice going Asuna! You just took over like a boss. Nobody will remember your nervous laugh now._ Puffing up in pride as no one took any issue with her commands, she began to lead her small group towards their destination.

As Asuna watched Thinker and Nezha work together to take down a group of Tranquill, she was impressed by their coordination despite never having worked together directly. While their Pokémon weren't at the same level as her own, they were fairly well trained and had good synergy with their trainers.

Asuna had added a Grovyle to her team recently, and its Bashful nature matched its shy personality. Argo had told her that each Pokémon was given a unique personality that was dynamic and could change over time, but she wondered if there were only 25 unique personalities instead to match the number of Pokémon natures. She did agree with the idea of Pokémon being dynamic however, she couldn't imagine another Vulpix acting the same way her Kitsune did after months of interacting with her. Her Horsea had also evolved into a Seadra so Asuna was waiting to find a Fire Stone and a Dragon Scale to evolve the first 2 members of her team.

As the members of her squad finished up their fight, Asuna called them over. "Hey guys, let's go ahead and take a food break here now that the area is cleared out."

"I'll be right over," called Thinker. "I want to check on something we passed by earlier."

Nezha came over to Asuna as she got sandwiches out from her inventory. Sitting down with his Pokémon, he thanked Asuna for the food and began to dig in.

The boy looked to be the same age as Asuna if not younger and had an eyepatch covering his right eye. He had light blond hair and a Noctowl seemed to be perpetually perched on his shoulder. _I wonder why he has an eyepatch on, do injuries from the real world carry into the game?_

Noticing that she was staring at him, Nezha spoke up. "If you're wondering about my eye then don't be shy to ask about it. It'd be weird not to wonder about it honestly." With a grin, he continued on.

"I actually have a Full-Dive Nonconformity, an FNC. Basically, my senses don't work properly in the game and I have no depth perception. I was only going to try POW out for a bit to see if I could play it fine anyways, but obviously I got stuck in the death game. I came into this game with friends from a different game. We all decided to take hero names when we came to this one.. um, if you haven't guessed it somehow by now my friends are the members of Legend Braves."

A sad smile came to Nezha's face as he reminisced. "At the start of the game, I could barely fight at all and would probably have died to a Rattata or something if not for my Pokémon and my friends. Luckily, my friends stuck with me even though I was holding them back. I can never thank them enough for it. They helped me find a Hoothoot and I realized I could see using the vision of my Pokémon instead of my own. The eyepatch isn't really necessary but it helps me not rely on my own two eyes in important moments. Ever since then, Athena has always been with me helping me out in battles and I've been able to become a clearer. I thought I would just be a burden to everyone in this game, so I'm happy I have a chance to contribute to clearing this game. I won't be a hero of legend or anything like that, so all I can do is my best."

Realizing that he'd been talking for a while, Nezha gave a nervous smile and laughed. "Sorry, once I start talking I forget to give other people a turn sometimes."

"No don't worry about it! That's a really interesting story, I'd never heard of an FNC before."

"Sorry to interrupt, but I just got back and heard the end of your conversation. When we have a chance later, would you mind telling me the full story Nezha. I'm fascinated by how you managed to overcome a Full-Dive Nonconformity."

"Sure thing!"

"Hey Thinker, I.. don't mean to offend anyone by saying this, but why are you in the Army- er, KGB? You're free to do whatever you want I mean, but you just seem, a little too nice compared to…"

"Ahaha say no more, I know what you're trying to say. Yes, our guild leader is certainly rough on the outside, but he truly is well-meaning. Although I don't always agree with his methods, I agree with his ideals. We must protect the players we can protect while giving anyone who wants to fight the means to do so, regardless of their level or skill. By bettering the whole player base, we give everyone a better chance of survival while ensuring a margin of safety when clearing the game. Of course, we agree that exceptional players are needed to defeat the League of Elites at the end of the game and we don't mean to have hard feelings with the DDA, but conflict is sure to arise between two guilds of such similar size with different ideals.

A frown took over Thinker's expression as he kept talking. "Lately, it seems like some members of our guild are trying to encourage conflict with other guilds and have questioned the notion of pooling resources among members somewhat equally. Two members especially, Morte and Joe, have seemed to change Kibaou's viewpoints on the correct way to play the game… I've said too much, please forget what I've just said. Ultimately, even if I don't agree with every decision, I think that joining a guild is the best way to clear this game. I would encourage you to join one as well, you have great strength and leading potential so I look forward to seeing you join one even if it is not our own."

With a warm smile towards Asuna, Thinker began chowing down on his food as well.

 _Huh, maybe it's about time I started thinking seriously about joining a guild. All the members I meet from them seem really nice in person and have the same motivation towards clearing the game. From what I've heard from Godfree, Heathcliff is also pretty lax about how you spend your time when you're not involved with guild activities so I can keep my levels up and interact with other players. If I'm serious about clearing this game, then this would be the fastest way to do it. Kirito did mention there was an absolute limit to what a solo player can do after all…_

KABOOOOOOOM

An explosion in the distance made them all widen their eyes in surprise and look towards the direction of the noise. The weather in the area they'd been exploring was very sunny and hot, but in the area where she'd heard the noise she saw an accumulation of massive black clouds that would blot out any sunlight.

"What in the hell was that... wait, what's that thing flying over there? A Pokémon?"

Looking further into the sky, Asuna saw what appeared to be a long, green dragon flying through the sky towards the clouds. When she looked closer, she thought she could faintly make out a small, black humanoid shape riding atop the Pokémon.

"Is that Rayquaza? I'd heard rumors that it was in this game but I never thought I'd see it, and is that something riding on it?"

"No way, could it really be him? How am I supposed to take his advice about not playing solo seriously when he does stuff like this? Absolute limit my ass…" Asuna muttered to herself in wonder as she followed the dragon's path with her eyes.

A message notification popped up and distracted Asuna from her stupor. Checking the message quickly, she relayed the instructions to her companions.

"Heathcliff just sent us a message, meet back up at the base camp. Seems like it's either too dangerous to continue on today or the conditions might clear up after this. I don't know the lore about this game so you probably know more about it than I do."

* * *

As Kirito and the Rayquaza approached the dark black thunderclouds and flew straight through them, Kirito witnessed a sight of epic proportions. Below him were two gigantic and brilliantly colored Pokémon facing one another and preparing for battle.

Partially submerged in the water was a light blue whale Pokémon with a white underbelly and red lines running up its body. The Sea Basin Pokémon, Kyogre, had the ability Drizzle which caused rain to fall from the sky due to its very presence alone. Its sunken yellow eyes looked across the battlefield towards an identical pair of yellow eyes on its eternal rival, Groudon, the Continental Pokémon.

Groudon had the form of an armadillo standing on two feet with a few key differences. For one, it was bright red with black lines intersecting throughout all over its body. Also, it was extremely large and had dangerous white spikes running up the sides of its body and replacing its fingers and toes. Most importantly, its murderous gaze made it clear that it wanted to kill you rather than curling up into a ball. At the moment it was having the world's most intense staring contest with Kyogre.

As Kirito and Rayquaza approached, the stare down ended and the Pokémon launched attacks towards one another. The Kyogre was a Water-type and had rain falling on its body which made it basically immune to fire type attacks, but the rain gave way to intense heat and pressure emanating from the Groudon in the area it stood which helped to somewhat nullify any Water-type attacks. One had to think that the Kyogre had the advantage though as it shot out a massive amount of water from its blowhole towards the Ground-type Groudon.

Water Spout was a move which did more damage the more health that the user had, and a full health Kyogre in the rain would be dishing out incredible amounts of damage with it. The attack arced into the air towards Groudon, but Kirito quickly realized that Rayquaza was on an interception course straight towards it.

To make things even worse, giant sharpened stones shot forth from the ground into the air and towards the Kyogre. The Groudon was using the Rock-type move Stone Edge which had high base damage and an increased chance of landing a critical strike. If Rayquaza were to take the hit from both of attacks, it would actually take serious damage, not to mention Kirito himself who would likely die to a single hit from either attack at this point.

Kirito stifled the urge to scream as the Rayquaza shot straight towards the interloping arcs of the attacks and dodged and weaved between them at the last second using an insane burst of speed. The move Extreme Speed truly lived up to its name and Kirito thankfully escaped death by high speed water jet to the face or stone puncture to the abdomen.

Flying full speed through the air and doing a barrel roll to forcefully eject Kirito to the ground of Sootopolis City while turning back towards the battle simultaneously, the Rayquaza returned to the battle between mythical Pokémon. Kirito meanwhile, found himself flat on his face on the grass and took a few seconds to recover from his shock at being dumped so abruptly.

The Kyogre and Groudon had both taken damage from each other's attacks and reeled in pain while emitting primordial cries that made Kirito feel as though he was witnessing a battle between dinosaurs of a bygone era. Of course, dinosaurs had much less limited attacking options than the two beasts in front of him. However, the cries began to peter out as they noticed the approach of a green dragon in the sky.

As the majestic Pokémon stretched itself to its full height to look down on and intimidate them with another "EEEAAAUUHEEAAUH," the dark black clouds and lightning shooting down from the sky began to magically clear away and the air itself became calm once more. This ability was called Airlock and it belonged to Rayquaza, allowing it to repress the effects of weather. Causing the very skies to calm down with its appearance alone, the Sky High Pokémon's intimidation seemed to be working as the Kyogre and Groudon ceased their fighting between one another and turned to face the Rayquaza.

The Rayquaza's plan seemed to backfire on it though at this point as the legendary beasts began to attack Rayquaza instead! The Kyogre shot out deadly beams of ice from its mouth whereas the Groudon began to launch large rocks and boulders into the air with the intention of hitting Rayquaza. The Rayquaza dodged and weaved once more but the attacks were numerous and unending. Eventually, the Rayquaza was struck by an Ice Beam and moments later a Rock Slide landed as well, dealing the dragon Pokémon massive damage.

Kirito began to worry that his fight with the Rayquaza had weakened it and prevented it from winning a fight that it normally would, but his fears were soon forgotten. Seething in anger, the Rayquaza released a savage roar and conjured an immense number of flaming comets in the sky, the likes of which Kirito couldn't have possibly imagined. The large-scale attack crashed down unavoidably onto the Kyogre and Groudon alike, dealing massive damage to the both of them and creating a crater in the ground where the attack landed. Despite the cooldown time of Rayquaza's Draco Meteor attack, the looks of awe and fear in the eyes of Kyogre and Groudon told Kirito that the battle was over.

Sure enough, the Kyogre returned to the depths of the ocean and the Groudon retreated back to dry land, likely in search of another place to slumber until they could continue the eternal battle between land and sea anew. This time once more, the beast of the air had been the unexpected victor.

Rayquaza too began to fly back towards whence it came, seemingly having forgotten about Kirito already. This was fine with Kirito after very nearly being killed by the Pokémon earlier though. Just surviving the encounter was fine in his book after seeing the terror of its true strength.

Further down the coast, he saw the leaders of Team Aqua and Team Magma seemingly making up with one another and hugging it out, their extravagant ideas for expanding the land or the sea discarded for good after the sights they had witnessed. Kirito felt it was possible that he would gain an item if he went to talk to them but decided to stay out of it. His well-intentioned meddling with NPC's had only caused him pain thus far.

 _The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results after all._ Turning away from the diminishing form of Rayquaza, he began to walk away from Sootopolis City. He would find a place to take a bath and get a good night's sleep once he got to the next town.


	14. Chapter 14

A group of 5 mid-level players was currently walking through the woods in search of a quest. The group had only consisted of 4 players until earlier that week when a tall woman with blood-red hair looking for a mid-level group had joined up with them. Truthfully, it had been her idea to seek out this quest and some of the group members weren't very happy about that.

"Genevieve, could you remind me again why we let this Rosalia woman join our group?"

"You know as well as I do that Kobatz is the leader of our group and he apparently can't keep it in his pants. We may need to find a new group soon Chella."

"I totally agree, that woman is definitely up to no good. Look at how handsy she's being with him! She can't stop touching him."

"Ugh so annoying, I literally can't watch it anymore. It's making me nauseous."

"Now now ladies, aren't you just feeling a bit jealous? Rosalia is exactly the type of player we were looking for when we put up our advertisement. Not to mention she's given us info about this valuable quest. Weren't you looking for a Water Stone to evolve your Eevee into a Vaporeon Chella?"

"I'm not jealous at all Kris! Kobatz can get with whoever he wants, but I'd appreciate if he would keep the flirting to a minimum. I'm more worried about if Rosalia is telling the truth. I heard rumors that a group of players around our level were killed here last week."

"I totally agree with you Chella! If he would change the public in PDA to private then I couldn't care less what he does. But wait, a whole group of players really died around here? I didn't know about that."

"Yeah, like I heard they got killed by a group of red players. No one knows who's in it but apparently they're calling themselves FEAR."

"FEAR? Does that stand for something?"

"I'm not sure, but what if Rosalia is part of them?"

"Don't be ridiculous girls, you need to learn to be more trusting. Didn't you just say that this hypothetical guild was a red guild? Rosalia's indicator is clearly green so she couldn't be a part of it. More importantly, that rumor is ridiculous; I haven't heard of any such thing. Surely players wouldn't murder other players when that means death in the real world. We're all gamers after all, not criminals."

"Your problem is you're way too trusting Kris, criminals can be gamers too. Besides, who knows how being trapped in a death game would affect someone's mentality. Like, have you ever read Lord of the Flies?"

"Oh my god I was just trying to think of the name of that book Genevieve! But yeah I've got a bad feeling about this mission."

Walking ahead of the rest of the group and out of earshot were Rosalia and Kobatz. Kobatz was a short man in his 30's with dark hair and sharp eyes below his thick eyebrows. Despite his height, he had an impressive stature which he attributed to having served in the military IRL. He was currently a mid-level player but he had more powerful Pokémon than the rest of the party, and he had plans to join the KGB soon.

The tall, attractive woman next to him had purple eyes and a long golden earring hanging from her left ear. She had curly, flame-red hair that she would occasionally twirl with one of her fingers while talking to Kobatz. Her lips seemed to have the same color, whether naturally or through the use of some lipstick accessory she'd acquired in the game, and her slim physique was accentuated by her very light armor.

Laughing at one of Kobatz's jokes, she put her hand on his shoulder once again and crept it lightly down his back, triggering the Anti-Harassment Prompt to pop up beside him for the 5th time that day. Kobatz was in a merry mood and casually flicked the prompt away while laughing at his own joke as well, declining the opportunity to send Rosalia to the game's prison.

"That was a good one Kobatz! I haven't heard a joke that funny in a while. That Anti-Harassment warning is such a buzzkill though, don't you think?"

"Ahaha it's an old joke I used to tell my army buddies all the time back home. You're the first person I've met in the game who's appreciated it besides Kris over there. Ah, the Anti-Harassment warning sure can be annoying but it's something we have to live with unfortunately," Kobatz said despite not having known the warning existed until 10 minutes ago.

"Well, now that you mention it, it's not something we actually have to live with. Here, put your hand on my arm."

"Ah, I'm not so sure about that… you aren't going to send me to prison, are you?"

"Hahaha you're such a jokester Kobatz! I would never send such a dashing man to jail."

Forgetting his hesitation in an instant, Kobatz put his hand on her uncovered arm, and when prompted to by Rosalia, moved his hand up and down it without triggering any sort of warning from the system. Amazed, Kobatz asked Rosalia how this was possible.

"Oh it's quite simple really. You simply have to disable the pesky Ethics Code in your settings. The creator of this game must have planned to keep us stuck in here from the beginning but he knew humans had… special urges. If you disable the settings then I can show you what I'm talking about. You'd be amazed, you can feel someone's entire body from head to toe if they have the ethics setting off and enjoy yourself with no consequences," Rosalia said while seductively lipping her lips.

Kobatz was lucky he wasn't in the real world or he would have been sweating all over. He'd never been with a woman nearly this attractive, though he felt a man of his stature should have been swarmed by them, and he was feeling nervous in this situation. Something in the back of his mind was warning him that the ethics code was needed for a reason though and that he shouldn't turn it off. The voice disappeared when Rosalia put her finger under his chin and stroked it delicately while turning his head to face her.

The Harassment Warning went off once again from this and Rosalia gave it an annoyed look while removing her hand from his face. Not wanting to disappoint her or spoil the mood, Kobatz opened his settings and asked her for instructions on how to disable his Ethics Code. As soon as he finished changing his settings and closed his menu, the men hidden sporadically behind the trees made their move.

A barrage of Pokémon attacks shot forth towards the party in the back, chunking them and their Pokémon to low health while they were simultaneously surrounded by a party of 4 men and their Pokémon. In the front, Rosalia and Kobatz were suddenly bum-rushed by 3 additional men. 2 of them immediately tackled Kobatz to the ground by his legs and pinned him there while the last sauntered up to him slowly.

Unsure of why the Anti-Harassment Code hadn't popped up, Kobatz struggled to move his arms to open his menu and release his Pokémon, he managed to release his Pidgeotto before the woman next to him grabbed his left arm to prevent him from moving any further. "Tsk, tsk, we can't have you doing that now. Weak-minded losers like you should just give up."

As Kobatz looked over towards Rosalia, he saw she now had a cold sneer on her face replacing the seductive visage from before. The extent of the situation finally dawning on him, he tried to grab her with his free right hand while shouting, "Unhand me you dirty wench, Pidgeotto attack!"

"How annoying," the tall, handsome man above Kobatz spoke. "Pidgeotto isn't a rare Pokémon anyways though. I'll go ahead and dispose of it before proceeding with the trade."

He had purple hair that was more violet than the color of the Koffing beside him, and a Victreebel and a Growlithe were part of his team as well. Not bothering to take out his sword, he instructed his Pokémon to take out the Pidgeotto while stepping on Kobatz's hand to prevent any more movement. Pidgeotto fought as hard as it could, but ultimately only landed one or two hits before being defeated by a number of Sludge Bombs and Fire Fangs.

Having just watched his Pokémon die and hearing shrieks coming from the rest of his group behind him, Kobatz had to admit defeat. Giving Rosalia a look of hatred, he directed his question to the man above him with an orange cursor. "Who are you people? And what do you want from us?"

"I'm Ray, Rosalia's partner in crime. What we want from you people is your Pokémon. You see, ultimately my goal is to aid in defeating the Elite 4 to protect the rest of the players from devastation. Gaining strong Pokémon is difficult though, so us mid-level players need to unite as one nation to propel a few select players to the stars above. After all, mid-level players don't contribute at all towards clearing this game like the clearers do, so you could say I'm taking resources from you to help the rest of the player-base survive. It's a noble goal, isn't it? So would you mind trading us your Pokémon? Pretty please. I'll even add in a cherry on top."

"Like I'd trade my Pokémon to a scumbag like you," Kobatz said while spitting at the man's foot next to him. "You just killed my Pidgeotto for no reason and you're preventing a strong player from reaching the front lines. The clearers will need mid-level players to join their ranks soon and people like me can make it up there and have an impact without relying on such cheap tricks. I could never respect someone who uses lies and seduction to get what they want."

"Sigh, it appears your head is full of foolish ideals about truth and love. It's of no matter though, we knew you were stubborn in the first place. That's why we didn't spring our ambush until the conditions were met."

"Conditions? What condiswrlgrl…"

Ray interrupted Kobatz by putting his other shoe over the man's mouth while he continued talking. "You see, my dear Rosalia had the mission of disabling your Ethics Code. I never suspected she'd be able to do it quite this fast though. It's truly a testament to how little willpower you have Kobatz. Now that it's disabled, we can do this."

Stepping off of Kobatz's hand, Ray used his high STR stat to overpower Kobatz and move his arms in a specific way to bring up the menu. Bringing up the Pokémon menu, he selected a Pokémon while Kobatz struggled to resist him and traded it to himself in exchange for an extremely weak Pokémon he'd caught near the beginning of the game. Ray continued to do this until he'd traded himself all of the man's Pokéyen, valuable items, and high-leveled Pokémon.

On the other side, the 3 low-health members sat in a circle while surrounded by the other members of the criminal group and trembled. They weren't sure what was happening to Kobatz but it didn't look pretty.

"That Kobatz," mumbled Chella, "he disabled the Ethics Code that easily? What a pathetic excuse for a man. Now they can take whatever they want from him and he can't send them to jail."

"I'm sure Kobatz had a good reason for-"

"Shut the hell up Kris, you're so annoying!"

"Hey, are you kids trying to come up with an escape plan? I'd suggest you keep quiet or you won't get out of this alive," one of the men surrounding them said. "No one escapes from FEAR."

Noticing the Eevee next to Chella, one of the men's eyes lit up. Hushing the other men around him, he walked up to Chella and began to talk to her directly.

"Hey kiddo, why don't you trade me that Eevee of yours. If you do I'll put a good word in with the boss and make sure you get out of this alive. The boss is really unpredictable, but overall he's a pretty nice guy. If you cooperate you'll be just fine. Of course, we have ways of making you cooperate otherwise."

"Yo the boss isn't gonna like you doing this."

The man shushed his companions with a finger once more while beckoning for Chella to open her menu. Realizing what she had to do, Chella opened her menu and immediately clicked on her contacts instead of her Pokémon list. "Ok I'll do it, one second. What does FEAR stand for by the way?" she asked as a means of distracting him.

"Oh, glad you asked! Our name is pretty cool, it stands for Fist Eternal of the Almighty Regigigas. We were gonna go with Titan's Hand but our boss Ray came up with this to fit more with the Pokémon theme while making it sound scarier. We put FEAR into the hearts of our victims after all! Although I guess most of our victims end up… Hey! What the hell are you typing?"

Chella quickly pressed send on her message that she had not quite managed to complete. She had been forced to send it to the first person on her contact list, but fortunately she felt that person might be the best hope to avenge them. After all, she was fairly confident that none of them were getting out of this alive. Tears started pouring out of her eyes as she realized she was about to die, and Genevieve, the girl next to her, began to cry as well as though the realization was contagious.

Finished with his business with Kobatz, Ray finally removed his sword from its sheath and sunk it through the man's chest. Blood spurted from Kobatz's mouth as he shouted in surprise before his health fell to zero and his body burst into fragments of light. Cleaning the blood from his sword with a cloth before returning it to its sheath, Ray noticed that his men had still not killed the rest of the party behind them.

"What the hell are you boys doing? I thought I told you to kill them immediately, we need to get out of here before we're spotted. We don't want any of the clearers to catch wind of what we're doing."

"But Boss, one of them has a rare Eevee…"

"It's too risky to stay here any longer and we don't have their Ethics Codes disabled. Just finish them off."

A few seconds later, the remainder of Kobatz's party was dead and FEAR left to check their haul and scope out their next target. The rest of the player base was none the wiser aside from a player named Argo who had received a cryptic message saying, "FEAR, green, red-hair, R."

* * *

Kirito closed his messages and laid back on the grass while sighing. Above him was a clear blue sky without a cloud in sight and in front of him was a field of tall grass where he'd begun to train recently. He thought this location was perfect, the Pokémon were high-level and gave a fair amount of XP while being out of the way for the rest of the clearers. They would be challenging another raid boss within the next week so Kirito figured he would try to gain some more levels and then come back to the front lines once the next area was unlocked.

His peaceful farming had been cut short by Argo's message however. Kirito had wanted information on an upcoming event he'd heard rumors about and he'd been willing to pay any cost, but Argo wanted an additional service added to the Pokéyen in exchange for the information she had. Apparently, she had received a mysterious message about a week ago from a now deceased player that had hints to the identity of the leader of a red guild. After investigating, Argo had found out that the guild was apparently called FEAR and had killed two groups of mid-level players for unknown reasons

If Kirito was being honest with himself, he likely would have tried to go and catch the leaders of the red guild without solicitation once he'd heard about it. If red players were allowed to do as they pleased then the behavior would only be encouraged. _I suppose what Argo was really after is the stipulation she gave me if I went after them though. Making me join up with another guild to track them down is annoying enough, but why did it have to be Fuurinkazan? She must have figured out that me and the guild leader, Klein, knew each other from before. I have no idea how she found that out though. Maybe she's actually psychic and I should trade her my Gothitelle._

Kirito's Gothorita had recently evolved into Gothitelle, but it was still insistent that Kirito had some sort of psychic abilities rivaling on the power of premonition. Either way though, Kirito knew he would have to join up with Klein and his guild mates if he wanted to complete Argo's request. Kirito knew the dangers of taking on a red clan that had wiped out two mid-level guilds on his own at this point in the game. Regardless of how powerful he was, he just wasn't far enough into the game to take on 5+ people and their Pokémon alone without risking casualties to his team. He could probably take out some of them, but losing Estelle, Chardcore, or Kiriko would be devastating.

 _Still, I bet she's having me join up with my old "friend" to try to make me feel better after I wouldn't meet her in person. I respect the effort, but it's a bit painful since I joined a guild after selfishly refusing to join his. Well, at least me not joining meant him and his friends got to survive. I wish she'd just leave me alone to farm where I can't accidentally hurt anyone else._

Opening his menu as he had just received another notification, Kirito read Klein's first message to him in a long time.

'Yo, what's popping Kirito? Haven't heard from you in ages. I hear you're some kind of hot-shot trainer now but my team is pretty hot too! Literally, since they're all fire types. Well maybe they're not as hot as that smoking Zorua of yours. Tell her that she can join up with me if she's looking for a real trainer ;) Ouch Combusken! Quit it I was just joking around. Anyways, I hear we need to team up to take out a good-for-nothing red guild. My team is always ready to take some evil-doers down a peg, so let me know when and where you want to meet up.'

Kirito cracked his first real smile in a while as he read Klein's message but quickly reminded himself that he didn't deserve to smile before replying. Letting his Pokémon know that they would soon be meeting up with some allies, he began move towards the location he'd specified.

* * *

With a huff, the girl who was too young to be stuck in a death game, much less actively participating in it, marched away from the rest of her group. The pigtails on either side of her head bounced up and down as she turned on her heel following the argument she'd just lost with her party members. Her face was all scrunched up, which was adorably mimicked by the Pikachu perched on her shoulder that had its front limbs crossed in front of its chest.

"I'm not crazy am I? Those guys are just listening to whatever that woman says and ignoring me."

"Pina-Piii" the Pikachu agreed in an upset tone.

The Pikachu was named Pinachu and it could talk to Silica in her head like any other Pokémon could. She had formed a close relationship with it at the beginning of the game, and it was with Pinachu's encouragement that she decided to leave the safe zone and explore the world around her. Having named the Pichu who later evolved into Pikachu after her cat, Silica had been delighted when she realized it could say the name she had given it! Since then they had always communicated out loud unless they needed to talk more in depth such as if they needed to form a strategy for a specific fight.

This unique way of communicating with her Pokémon combined with her refusal to add another Pokémon to her team or to evolve Pinachu with a Thunderstone was likely the reason that they had the closest bond between a Pokémon and a trainer out of everyone in the game. Silica could trust Pikachu to have her back and vice-versa, despite rarely giving her Pokémon any commands.

Pinachu was probably her best friend, inside or outside of the game, at this point in time. Silica was an only child who had always wished for siblings but had been forced to settle for a cat which she loved dearly. Perhaps because of this, she was very social whenever she was in public and she had managed to win a small singing contest at the mall to earn herself one of the first copies of Pokémon World Online. It had taken a lot of convincing to get her parents to let her try POW, but they had finally been worn down, much to their chagrin once their daughter was trapped in the game. For now, Silica wasn't thinking about that though, she was replaying the argument she had just had with her group by talking to her Pokémon.

"Ever since Rosalia showed up those guys just give her whatever she wants. I've had enough of it, I shouldn't have to give up some of my items and potions to keep her on the team. They probably think that I'm relying on them to get through these woods since I just have one Pokémon. I'll show them though! Pinachu and I are strong; I'm not some mascot character. There are plenty of other groups that would want me to join them."

"Pinachu!"

The Pikachu uncrossed its arms and made a little cheering motion while jumping up and down to try to cheer Silica up a bit. The attempt worked as Silica couldn't stop herself from giggling.

Silica's belief that she was viewed as a mascot character was founded in the truth. In an extremely dangerous game with a largely male player-base, partying up with the cute little girl who talked to her Pokémon as though it was real was a nice change of pace. As a result, she did have plenty of players who wanted her to party up with them, but none of them viewed her as a serious player. In fairness, that may have aided her survival in the game as Silica hadn't played many video games and wasn't sure what to do as a solo player. She was beginning to realize this as she looked over her map once more to try to find an exit from the woods she was currently trapped in.

"We haven't been in these woods more than 10 minutes, the place we came in from can't be that far. I could have sworn I was walking the right way but according to the map I'm further away now! Maybe I should have just sucked it up and waited until we got back to storm off like that…"

"shh, pina-pina.."

The soft sound of her Pokémon's voice and it's nudging on her arm got Silica to quiet down in an instant. The Pikachu had a better sense of hearing than she did and its senses had prevented them from being discovered by stronger opponents multiple times in the past. Stealthily stepping behind a tree and holding her breath, Silica observed the woods around her slightly nervously.

In front of her, searching around the nearby trees for berries appeared to be a pack of wild Vigoroth. There looked to be 6 of them and they were likely all around her level. It would have taken good teamwork to escape from them unscathed in her earlier group, but on her own she had basically no chance of taking them down. Beginning to seriously regret her actions, Silica began to shiver and accidentally took a small step backwards.

As luck would have it, that step happened to be right onto a small branch that made a loud snapping noise as soon as she stepped on it. Nearly crying out in surprise before covering her mouth, she turned her eyes back towards the Vigoroth in the hopes that they hadn't heard her. Her hope was quickly dashed when the largest of the aggressive-looking monkeys with white fur stared her directly in the eyes before rushing towards her with the rest of its pack in tow.

Silica turned away from the Vigoroth and began to run for her life, but quickly realized she'd made another mistake. Having not looked at the map correctly earlier, she had just run directly into a dead end and basically had helped the Vigoroth to corner her. In desperation, she got ready to fight.

"Okay Pinachu, this will be our toughest challenge yet but if we work together we can overcome this. Let's take them on with all we've got!"

"Pinachu! Pina-Piiiiiiiiiiiii"

With a cry her Pikachu released a powerful Thunderbolt at one of the Vigoroth while Silica unsheathed her dagger and dodged an attack before sinking the dagger into the side of one of the Vigoroth. Her dagger gave her extra-maneuverability in battle but it had less room for error than other weapons, which was soon showcased as she took a Tackle to the side from another Vigoroth due to her delay in pulling the dagger out.

Her Pikachu ran forward with a Volt Tackle to slam into an opponent that was about to attack her. Volt Tackle was a very powerful but life-endangering electric tackle that did a third of the damage back to the Pikachu in recoil damage. It was exceedingly rare and was normally only able to be acquired by having a Pokémon holding a Light Ball breed a Pichu, the Pokémon that evolved into Pikachu. Through some stroke of luck, Silica's starter Pokémon was a Pichu with Volt Tackle and it was a great finishing move for a battle. Using it this early in a fight was very costly though, especially when there were 5 other Vigoroth ready to instantly jump onto Pinachu.

Jumping forward to take aggro back once more, Silica slashed her dagger across the face of one Vigoroth and the stomach of another, making sure not to stab her dagger into a Pokémon and risk losing it again. The problem was that using her dagger to slash the Vigoroth did much less damage than she would have hoped. A Thundershock from her Pikachu finished off the opponent that it had been fighting but its health had been chipped into the red by the others in the meantime.

Using slashing attacks wasn't exclusive to Silica though, as a Vigoroth showed when it used its own Slash attack to deal hefty damage to her. The Slash attack had caught her off guard and Silica's eyes widened in fear as she noticed her health falling towards the red.

"I'm.. I'm going to die.. Noooooo I don't want to die! Pinachu save me!"

Her call seemed to be too late as she was unable to defend herself from the incoming Vigoroth's Fury Attacks with her dagger, and could only watch as her HP plummeted with each strike while lying on the ground.

12%, 9%, 6%, 3%, right before the last attack went through to bring her health down to zero, a blindingly bright ball of light with jagged bolts of electricity arcing off of it streaked towards the Vigoroth with a war cry: "PINAAAAAACHUUUUUUUUU"

Smashing into the Vigoroth and eliminating its health completely before coming to a stop, the Pikachu nuzzled its head into Silica's neck lovingly for a brief moment before its health fell to zero from the recoil damage. Giving her one final lick with its bright pink tongue as a means of saying good bye, the Pokémon faded from existence with no Pokémon center anywhere nearby to possibly save it, even if Silica had a way to survive herself.

"Pinachu… no, come back…" Silica sniffled as she cried uncontrollably. In the back of her mind, she knew that she would soon be dead too, but she couldn't find it in her to be sad about anything aside from her Pokémon's death at the moment. As the Vigoroth slowly approached her to deal the final blow, she laid her dagger on the ground and closed her eyes as she readied herself for the death soon to come.

A blast of fire, the whoosh going past of a sphere of darkness, a powerful psychic attack, and two quick slashes from a blade all registered in her mind, causing her to flinch each time as she was sure that each sound would be her end. Yet the end never came.

Opening her eyes, Silica saw the glittering fragments of the remaining Vigoroth lighting up the air around her, giving the woods a mysterious glow. Stepping through the shimmering air towards her and offering her a hand was a boy dressed in all black with a single sword in one hand. His face was slightly feminine and he looked to be a couple years older than her. Still unsure of exactly what was happening, Silica hesitated, debating on whether to take the stranger's hand until he began to speak.

"I'm sorry I got here late. I rushed over here as soon I heard the sounds, but I wasn't in time to save your Pokémon. Those attacks might have attracted other Pokémon so we need to get you up and healed. Here, take this potion. It'll restore your health back to full. And here are a few more for you just in case you need them."

Silica was still confused, but the boy seemed to mean well so she took his hand. The hand felt warm and full of compassion as he lifted her up and handed her some high-level potions that she couldn't even afford to buy on her own. After having left her group due to an argument about potions, Silica had trouble imagining why someone would give her so many free potions for no reason. Did he have bad intentions after all?

"Um, why are you doing this for me? I don't have any money to pay you back for this, and, and, and I don't want to be anyone's mascot anymore. Especially now that I los-"

Puzzled, the boy tilted his head to look at Silica as fresh tears began to run down her face. Realizing that whatever he was doing wasn't working, he tried to start over.

"I-I'm sorry, I'm not entirely sure what you're talking about, but you needed help didn't you? Anyone would help someone in need if they had the chance to. Oh I should introduce myself, I'm Kirito and behind me is my team. The flying Pokémon is called Chardcore, the Pokémon that looks like a maid is Estelle, and the…"

Kirito shook his head in disbelief as his Zoroark approached him in the form of his female self that she'd used the first time they met. Her tail was hidden well enough that it wouldn't be noticed unless you looked at her from behind, but he had no idea why she was taking that form in this situation. The fact that she was able to talk out loud like a human now that she'd evolved also worried him.

Walking forward, the Zoroark wrapped the girl up in a hug and said "There there" while patting her head softly. Silica looked as though she would refuse the advance at first, asking "Who're you?" with wide eyes, but she soon looked to be comforted by the hug and began to cry into the Zoroark's shoulder.

"It's alright now, we're here for you. I'm Kiriko, Kirito's twin sister. I know you're sad and scared but you can just relax and cry for a while now. We'll protect you. Can you move? Would you let us take you to the nearest town and talk to you there? Go ahead and take that potion for me."

Silica looked to have calmed down as she took the potion and gradually stopped crying. Composing herself, she nodded back towards Kiriko and allowed herself to be escorted out of the woods.

* * *

"I still can't believe you're twins! How did your family afford two Nerve Gears? Is your family rich? Do you have any other siblings?"

Silica's mood had improved drastically since they'd left the forest. _I can hardly believe that this was the girl crying in the woods 5 minutes ago. She seems like one of the happiest people I've ever seen. If I didn't know better I would say she was over it, but I know that sad look when she thinks no one else is watching from experience. What can I do to make things better?_

Kirito was mostly leaving the talking to Kiriko while he thought things over. He was still against her taking a human form to comfort Silica, but there was nothing he could about it now. _She might hate me once she finds out the truth though. I guess it's better to cheer her up now even if she dislikes me for it later on. It's not like I really had any control over the situation anyways._

"Hee hee we're not rich at all, we're just a normal family. Kirito got his as a birthday gift and I won a raffle to win mine!"

"Oh no way! I won mine in a contest at the mall. I was so happy when my parents let me play the game but…" Silica's face became gloomy once more for a second but she quickly recovered.

"Ooh what kind of contest was it?"

"It was a singing contest! I've always been a huge fan of idols and performers so I've practiced singing since I was a little kid. I'm not that good at it though, I think I was mostly chosen because of how I look."

"No way that's awesome, you must still be really talented Silica. You hear that Kirito? Silica is going to put on a singing performance for us later tonight."

"WHAT?! I didn't say that!" Silica's face turned beet red as she waved her hands back and forth over her face to show that she was against the idea. Kirito laughed at her flustered expression before replying.

"Is that so? Too bad, I wanted to hear Silica's singing."

"You do? Maybe I could sing for you one day then.." Silica mumbled before returning to normal volume. "Oh that's right. Kirito what're you like back in the real world?"

It was Kirito's turn to have his face turn a different color this time from the very personal question he'd just been asked. _Doesn't this girl feel weird at all asking about the real world? Most people try not to talk about it because it brings up painful memories but she did it so matter-of-factly. Maybe she just doesn't know better._

"M-me? Um, it's a bit embarrassing but I'm a bit of a nerd IRL. I was actually really into Pokémon games and MMO's so I guess me ending up here wasn't the worst thing. Well, that's not totally true. I have a sister back home and we just recently started to become a lot closer before I ended up stuck in here. You actually remind me of her a bit Silica."

"Really? I've never had a big brother. Can I call you big bro Kirito?"

Kirito patted her head while smiling. "Sure, call me whatever you like."

Silica's eyes lit up and she hummed happily as she got her head patted. Suddenly looking up in confusion, she asked Kiriko: "You didn't mention that you have a sister. Are you close with the younger sister too or are you closer to each other since you're the same age?"

"Um, I uh, it's a bit complicated but me and Kirito seem to get along better. So Silica, do you have any siblings?"

"No, none at all. I'm actually really jealous of you guys since I've always wanted a sibling. I have a cat back home named Pina who's really cute though, I actually named my Pikachu after her since it reminded me of her…"

Seeing the sad look on Silica's face once more, Kirito made a decision. Really, he wasn't sure of why he hadn't thought of it from the start. He had planned to go to that area to catch a new Pokémon soon and Silica couldn't be left without any Pokémon to defend herself.

"Hey Silica, would you mind coming somewhere with us tomorrow? I feel bad about not being there in time to save your Pokémon and I needed to make a trip to Dragon's Den tomorrow anyways. How about it? I know there's no way to replace your Pokémon but don't you think getting a Dragon-type for your team would be a good idea? They're very loyal to their trainers and they look wicked cool."

"I don't know if I should trust someone wearing all black on what's cool," Silica said while eyeing Kirito up and down before giggling. "But I think that sounds like a great idea! Are you sure I won't be a burden though?"

"Not at all."

"Yay! I can't wait to catch my very own dragon! I wonder what I should name it."

"Your very own Dragon-type? Why, you must be heading to Dragon's Den," a 4th voice cut in as they entered the town.

Turning to look at who was talking to them, a tall red-haired woman in light armor approached them with a sly grin on her face.

"Oh Silica, it's so nice to see you! I was worried about you after you ran off from the group by yourself. I'm very impressed you made it out of the woods alone, it would have been so sad if you'd died. Where's that little rat of yours though? I don't see him."

"For the last time Pinachu isn't a rat it's a mouse! And, Pinachu didn't make it… So that's why I'm going to capture a Dragon-type tomorrow!"

"Silica you're heading out of the frying pan and into the fire. Don't you think capturing a Dragon-type at your level with no Pokémon is a bit too difficult for you? You should be a good girl and stay in the safe zone from now on. What would your parents think?"

"She'll be fine," Kirito interrupted with a smile of his own. "Dragon's Den may be difficult but Silica will have good allies this time. Besides, it's really out of the way so we won't have to worry about other people trying to catch the Pokémon too."

"You do realize you have to have a party member who's beaten Clair's Gym to even get in to Dragon's Den, don't you?" Rosalia asked Kirito while looking at his very modest looking gear with disdain.

"That's no problem, I've already beaten the Blackthorn Gym to get the Rising Badge you see. I got really lucky having mostly Ice and Steel-type Pokémon on my team against a Dragon Gym but I still barely beat it. A win is a win though!"

"Oh it seems you'll have no problems then after all! That's a relief, I was worried that Silica over here had seduced another boy into doing dangerous things for her. She's quite the Siren you know. Best of luck! Don't be a burden Silica dear."

With a fake, cheery smile on her face, Rosalia walked away from the group and exited the town. Silica seemed to be in a bad mood after talking to the older woman.

"Why do people have to be so mean? I don't try to seduce guys and no one I've partied with has ever died."

"This must be your first MMO Silica. Some people like to roleplay as bad guys in video games or play the villain. Most of the time it's just for fun and it doesn't hurt anyone, but in here it's different. In this world where the consequences are real, being evil makes you a sorry excuse for a human being… sorry about that Silica, I got carried away. It doesn't seem like you've ever gotten any members of your party hurt so you're better than me."

The look on Kirito's face made Silica feel a bit sad, it seemed like he'd been through a lot. She didn't want to ask about it after all he'd done for her already though. Attempting to brighten the mood, Silica asked him "Hey Kiriko, Kirito, want to get something to eat before bed? I know a really amazing restaurant around here that has the best deserts!"

"Sure, that sounds like a great idea Silica!"

"I'm fine with that too, could you tell me more about Rosalia while we walk there?"

"What? You don't have a crush on her do you? I can't deal with being ditched by my party for her again you know."

"Sorry, sorry, it's not that I promise. I just have a hunch about something."

* * *

 _Ah, what a day. I'm still really sad that Pinachu isn't here to comfort me, but at least I made some actual friends who don't treat me like a mascot. They might be a bit weird but they're really kind. Kiriko got a tail accessory from some item drop that she apparently likes to wear in game and Kirito looks just like her minus the tail. If they weren't different genders, I'd think that they were identical twins._

Silica hummed to herself while changing into her pajamas. The dinner had been a lot of fun and the Tres Leches Cake had been delicious for desert. They had mostly talked about the plan for tomorrow and how they would get to Dragon's Den, but they had talked about other topics too.

 _Kiriko is so warm and nice, I'm so lucky she was there when I lost Pinachu. And Kirito is actually pretty kind and kinda cute too. I want to talk to them more. I guess we'll have all day tomorrow, but after that I'm sure they'll be leaving. Maybe if I get strong I can join back up with them one day! Alright, once I catch my dragon I'll train like heck!... but for now I'll sleep cause I'm getting pretty tired._

Silica turned off the lights and got into her bed in the inn, but after tossing and turning for a few minutes she couldn't get comfortable at all. After sleeping with Pinachu every day since the game had started, the bed felt too lonely and empty for her to get any sleep.

 _Well, I know that Kirito and Kiriko are sleeping in the room across the hall. I know that this is a one-time thing, but I did just lose my Pokémon. They're so nice that I'm sure they'll help me fall asleep tonight._

Making her decision, Silica exited her room and walked over to the room across the hall where she knocked on the door. Almost immediately the door opened up and Silica was wrapped into another bear-hug from Kiriko.

"Yay! I knew you would come, Kirito didn't think you would but I'm sure sleeping on your own tonight is too lonely right? Come on you can come sleep with us. Hee hee I get to sleep on the bed!"

A bit confused by why Kiriko was happy to sleep on the bed, and by there being only one bed in the room in the first place, Silica allowed herself to be dragged towards the bed that Kirito was already trying to get out of.

"Um, I'm sorry to intrude, but are you fine with me sleeping in here tonight?"

"It's alright, don't worry about it. It might be a bit cramped for three people though so I'll just sleep on the chair."

"No, don't! I'd feel awful if I stole your bed and forced you to sleep on the chair. I'm really small so I promise not to take up much room."

"Yeah but-"

"No buts bro, Silica wants to sleep with us and it'd be rude of you to make her feel bad by sleeping in the chair. Just get back in bed."

Giving his disguised Zoroark an exasperated look, Kirito climbed back into the bed and laid down at the far side of it with his face turned towards the window. Silica expected Kiriko to get in next, but to her surprise she was forced into the bed and under the covers in the middle spot before the older girl climbed in next to her. Silica was feeling a little nervous about sleeping so close to a boy but her nerves were soon forgotten when Kiriko wrapped her up in another hug and she felt something wagging back and forth under the covers.

"Do.. do you sleep with the tail accessory on too? And can you maybe not hug me quite so tight? I can't breathe."

"Oops my bad, hee hee, I was just so excited to sleep in the bed and with such a cute little girl. It's like I have my own younger sister! Your pigtails are adorable but I like how you look now with your hair down. And yeah I'm just used to sleeping with it now, kind of like how you're used to sleeping with your Pokémon I guess."

"That makes sense, but wait don't you have a little sister back home?"

"Oh yeah, good point. Okay less talk more sleeping, we have a big day tomorrow."

With that, Silica tried to fall asleep. Kiriko at some point stopped hugging her, as she seemed to have fallen asleep. _It's still warm sleeping next to her,_ Silica thought to herself contentedly. _I wonder what it'd be like if I slept this close to Kirito. He's in the same bed as me after all, so if I just pretend I rolled over in my sleep… No! What am I thinking!_ Silica's face turned hot and she kicked her feet out from under the covers in an attempt to cool herself down. She was sure her face had been bright red.

That was about when Kiriko began to move in her sleep. With one arm already underneath Silica, the taller girl began to roll like a log towards the center of the bed. "Wait, no, stop it Kiriko, wake up," Silica whispered loudly. She was powerless to wake up the supposedly asleep Kiriko however and found herself being pushed towards the opposite side of the bed.

 _Oh no, if she keeps rolling then I'm going to end up-_

Just as she thought it, Silica found herself being turned around to face the window, and with a yelp, reached out to grab the closest thing to prevent her from being rolled off the bed completely. Closing her eyes and squeezing onto what was in front of her, she tried to push her back into Kiriko to stop her from rolling any further. _Phew, it worked. I thought for sure I was going to fall off. Wait, what am I grabbing onto? It's so warm._

Opening her eyes, Silica found that she was halfway wrapped around Kirito's body hugging him from behind. One of her hands was on his chest and the other was grabbing onto his hair while her left leg was straddled over him in a highly embarrassing position. The position was warm and comfortable but she had no chance to enjoy it. Giving another little yelp before letting go of him immediately and rolling back towards Kiriko, her face turned far hotter than it had before and she stuttered out an apology.

"I-I-I'm-I'm s-so sorry Kirito. Kiriko p-pushed me into you I swear."

Kirito, having been woken from his sleep by the movement, simply told her it was fine and that he would sleep on the couch after all. He felt rather fortunate that the darkness covered up his own embarrassment after being accidentally groped by a younger girl. Of course, he knew it wasn't her fault, judging from the snickers coming from the supposedly sleeping Pokémon sprawled out on the opposite side of the bed.

Despite sleeping in a warm bed with company, Silica found that she couldn't fall asleep until it was nearly morning after the events that had unfolded.


	15. Chapter 15

"Huuuuuoooouuuaaaaa" Kirito yawned as he sleepily rubbed his eyes. After the stunt that Kiriko had pulled last night he hadn't gotten much sleep. This was especially bad today of all days as they had to escort a girl with no Pokémon of her own to Dragon's Den and deal with whatever came after that. Lack of sleep could very well prove fatal, as Kirito had realized after his gym battle with Juan, but fortunately he had caught up on sleep since the Rayquaza incident.

At his level he wasn't likely to be in any danger at Dragon's Den anyways. Even though his Zoroark wouldn't be fighting unless it was desperately needed, his Charizard and Gothitelle should be enough to protect him. _I am a bit worried about Silica though. She'll need some Pokémon to keep her safe and help her catch a Pokémon of her own._

After an awkward period of getting dressed and then having a quick breakfast, they left the inn and found themselves walking through a small flowery field at the edge of the safe zone. It was warm and sunny out with a slight breeze despite being February. An array of purple and white flowers fluttered as they were gently blown by the wind while the sun's reflection gleamed off the surface of a small pond.

Kirito was surprised to see a number of other people in the park. They were mostly in groups of 2, and they seemed to be wearing casual clothing without their weapons equipped or Pokémon out to assist them if they were to leave the safe zone. This struck him as odd, but he had never before passed through the park, so perhaps this was normal here. Paying it no mind, Kirito turned to face Silica while opening up his menu.

"Alright Silica, I'm going to trade you two Pokémon for now so that you'll be able to safely catch a Pokémon on your own. I'll help out if you need it, but it's better to catch one on your own. Is it fine if I trade you now while we're in the safe zone?"

"Um, yeah, that's fine…" Silica responded absentmindedly while looking around with an increasingly reddening face. "Hey, do you know what the date is?"

"I'll be right back," Kiriko broke in as she sauntered off with a grin.

Ignoring his Zoroark's mysterious action, Kirito selected the 'Trade' icon and scrolled through the Pokémon in his PC. _Silica is a dagger user so the Pokémon I lend her should also be pretty mobile and good against Dragon-types. I should probably go with…_ Selecting two Pokémon from his PC and clicking the 'Confirm Trade' prompt, Kirito remembered to reply to her earlier question.

"Um, I think it's the 14th. Why do you ask?"

"Aha no reason! I-Is there anything special about today to you?"

 _Special? It's not my birthday or anything so I'm not sure what she's talking about. I think it's Friday today, maybe that's what she means._ "Oh yeah, I'm sure glad it's almost the weekend! I don't really pay too much attention to what day it is though in here normally…"

. .. …

The blank stare that Silica was giving him was starting to make Kirito feel like an idiot, but wracking his brain wasn't helping. "D-…Did I say something weird?"

At that moment, Kiriko returned smiling with a man holding what appeared to be an antique camera in tow. "Here's the lovely couple right here. You'll take a picture of them for me, won't you?"

"You got it young miss."

"Kiriko, tell me what's going on.." Kirito inquired while trying to helplessly resist being dragged forward by his Pokémon.

"Waaaaaah what's happening?!" cried Silica as Kiriko put her other arm around her shoulder and pushed her into Kirito's side.

"Just a little Valentine's Day fun! Now look at the camera."

"Say cheese!" said the cameraman without giving them time to express their complaints as he took the picture. A clicking sound was followed by a flash of light and the easily-identifiable sound of a picture being taken. Moments later, a photograph came out of the bottom of the camera.

"Ooh let me see it first!" shouted Kiriko as she let go of the others to run up and snatch the photo. After shaking the picture a few times, she looked at it and laughed before showing it to Silica and her trainer.

The picture showed 3 people looking at the camera. Kirito was on the front left with an expression of complete surprise while Silica looked embarrassed right beside him. In the back, her face barely sneaking into the picture, was Kiriko with a wide grin and her arms around their shoulders.

"That Kiriko," mumbled Kirito as his Pokémon left Silica with the picture and happily walked over to thank the trainer with the camera. "How did she even know it was Valentine's Day?"

"I mean, she's a girl too. Even I realized it was Valentine's Day once we got to this park filled with other couples… Just couples I mean! This park filled with couples gave it away!"

"That's not exactly what I meant," Kirito began to explain, before realizing he couldn't casually reveal that Kiriko was a Zoroark who shouldn't know more about human holidays than he did. "Well, whatever. Actually, accept this trade invitation real quick and let's get out of here. I'm worried Kiriko has more tricks up her sleeve."

Silica accepted the trade invitation that popped up in her menu without even looking at it and casually stored the photo as an item in her menu at the same time without Kirito noticing. As soon as Kiriko returned and the trade completed, the group exited the safe zone.

After 5 or so minutes of walking, they had their first encounter with wild Pokémon and the flow of conversation resumed as normal. Kirito tried to give Silica some advice on how to fight with the Pokémon he'd traded her.

"Furret and Delibird are both reliant on their speed, which is still pretty good at this point in the game. Delibird also has attacks that are super effective against Dragon-types so it'll most likely draw aggro from the enemy Pokémon. Since you're a dagger user, it might be smart to use hit-and-run tactics. When Delibird has their attention, you attack while the Pokémon is distracted and switch out with Furret if the Pokémon refocuses onto you. It's harder to manage that style in a battle against multiple Pokémon but you'll get used to it if you practice it over and over. A good finishing move is Ice Shard since it has priority and does extra damage to Dragon-types…"

Kiriko helped with instructing Silica as well and they soon fell into a groove as they battled and made their way towards their destination. Silica was walking in a zig-zag path and paying attention to her feet so as not to step on any flowers as a sort of mini-game. She could see a house of sorts a short distance away as she approached a tree on her left side.

Suddenly, she jumped in surprise as an unexpected whisper came from the tree. "Psst, hey kid, come over here."

Silica obviously hesitated to move any closer, thinking she had imagined the voice for an instant until it continued. "I've got a surprise for you, it's a rare treat. You have to keep this as a secret between you and me though, so come behind the tree alone."

Increasingly alarmed, Silica ran over to the group and relayed the message she had just heard. Worried that it might be a PKer, Kirito insisted on checking behind the tree with his sword unsheathed.

 _Could this be FEAR setting an ambush for us? I really didn't think they'd make a move before we went to Dragon's Den but I need to be on guard. My searching skill isn't even picking up someone behind the tree so their hiding skill must be pretty high, which is even more worrying._

As he began to walk around the tree, Kirito saw the faint shadow of a cloaked man on the other side. Taking a deep breath, Kirito took a hard step on the ground before leaping to the side of the tree and leveling his sword towards.. a short, fat, hooded man with a Question Mark above his head indicative of a quest-giving NPC. Breathing a sigh of relief, Kirito put away his sword and beckoned for Silica to come closer. Once Silica came in range, the NPC looked left and right before removing an item from a bag and asking her, "Psst, can I offer you an egg in these trying times?"

The egg was far larger than a normal egg rom the real world and it was white with large green spots. Kirito identified it immediately as a Pokémon egg. "Go ahead Silica, you can take it."

With Kirito's encouragement, Silica reached out and grabbed the egg from the NPC, carefully holding it in front of her with both hands. A golden checkmark then appeared above the NPC's head as he said, "You didn't see me if anyone asks," before turning to face away from them. "I was never here."

"Um, uh, thank you sir," said a very confused Silica. Realizing she'd just acknowledged him even though he'd said not to, she added on a "I mean, wow! It's so lucky I found this egg lying out here in the middle of nowhere!" while striking a pose with a sideways peace sign over one eye.

Kiriko facepalmed at Silica's pose and Kirito audibly groaned, but all 3 of them soon started giggling at the strange encounter as they continued to walk onwards. They soon passed the house they'd seen in the distance that had a sign on top of it with 'Daycare' written on it. _Oh yeah, I used this place a few times during the beta. I was going to breed Pokémon with near-perfect IV''s to battle people with, but that kind of thing went out the window when this became a death game. IV's aren't nearly as impactful as levels until you start reaching the level cap, and breeding and hatching eggs is really time-consuming._

"Hey Silica, did you know if you put two Pokémon in the daycare then you sometimes get an egg back?"

"Oh cool! I didn't know that, do they have to be the same kind of Pokémon?"

"No, as long as they're opposite genders they just have to be in the same egg group. Ditto is kind of an exception though since it works with nearly everything."

"Huh, I wonder how the eggs get made.."

 _Oh crap, do I need to explain the birds and the bees? I feel like that's something her parents should do but if she's going to be stuck in this game for who knows how long… wait, what am I thinking? Every Pokémon egg looks the same regardless of the Pokémon, so maybe Pokémon biology works in a different way._ "I'm not sure, you should ask Kiriko, she'll know."

"… Could it be that Kiriko is a Pokémon breeding expert? Please tell me all about it!"

 _Whoops,_ thought Kirito as his Pokémon denied being an expert on the subject. _I slipped up again. It's been a weird day but I still need to keep up the act for now._

Once Kiriko had staved off Silica's curiosity, she made her way towards Kirito where she aggressively whispered at him. "What the hell were you thinking? You almost blew my cover!"

 _.. It was my fault, but this is a pretty good chance to get back at her for teasing me so much._ "Sorry," Kirito whispered back. "My bad, but Silica did bring up a good point. Maybe I should send you and Chardcore to the daycare so we can find out what happens in there."

Kiriko gave him a look of utter disgust. "Don't even joke about that. Chardcore has muscles for brains anyways so he'd probably try to fight the other Pokémon in the daycare. Besides, we aren't even in the same egg group."

"Well, I can't deny that first point, but can't you just become a Charizard illusion to fool the game? I think it's worth a shot, you and Chardcore might end up being a pretty cute couple."

Kiriko's expression changed to one of disappointment with a hint of contempt. It felt as though his 'twin' was looking down on him like he was an insect despite them being the same height. "I want to be traded to Silica," the Zoroark said as she began to walk away from him.

"Ahaha I took it too far but we're both just joking around, right Kiriko? Why do you keep walking away from me? Hey, Kiriko, we're cool right? Kiriko!"

* * *

Asuna looked around the room and took stock of the positioning of her Pokémon and of their opponents in the dungeon. She was currently standing in a fairly large room where she had been ambushed by a group of around 6 Pokémon. Considering she only had 3 Pokémon of her own, the conditions hadn't been favorable, but Asuna was still well within her margin of comfort. 3 of the enemy Pokémon had already been dispatched and she was currently working on dealing with the rest of them.

{Kitsune, target the Kangaskhan with a Flamethrower. That should take it below half health which should double the power of Brine so that Surf Slave can finish it off. From what I remember, Chansey is a Special Defense tank, so Tight-Leafed target it with a Leaf Blade while I finish off this Raticate. Let's wrap this fight up quick so we can take a break. Go!}

Asuna had been consuming the Strategy Guides provided to her by Argo as quickly as she could in her free time, and her efforts appeared to be paying off. _Information is power in a game like this. Knowing what a Pokémon is strong and weak against allows me to plan out my tactics optimally and prevents me from making bad decisions due to ignorance. When losing a battle means death, using a lack of information as an excuse isn't possible. I'll overcome my weaknesses one by one and reach the end of this game._

These were the thoughts running through Asuna's head as she dashed forward to deliver the final blow to the low health Raticate in front of her. The Raticate noticed her approach and instantly attempted to leap towards her and inflict damage upon her with a Hyper Fang attack. Calculating the trajectory of the rat Pokémon in the air, Asuna deftly dodged with the slightest of movements and delivered a fatal Linear.

Her dodge had been very similar to the evasive maneuvers she had seen Kirito use when she'd fought with him in the past. She had worked on becoming as efficient in battle with her movements as she was in planning out the most effective strategies to raise her chances of survival. Thinking back upon her suicidal battles in a dark cave with only her Vulpix not so long ago, she had to admit that her movements had been wasteful. When spending long periods of time training, saving as much stamina as possible was vital to maintain your mental stamina and finish battles quickly.

At the same time Asuna was finishing off the Raticate, a Leaf Blade from her Grovyle dispatched of the Chansey and a Flamethrower attack from the Vulpix shot into the side of the Kangaskhan at the same time that a burst of water hit it from the other side. However, the water attack hit barely before the flames, dealing half the damage it would have dealt otherwise. The Kangaskhan was left alive with less than 10% HP after taking both attacks, unbeknownst to Asuna, and began to charge towards her at full speed with its hard head angled directly at her.

{Master, jump!}

Realizing that something must have gone wrong, Asuna jumped into the air immediately, cursing herself for getting lost in thought during a battle. Her acrobatic maneuver nearly allowed her to dodge the incoming Double Edge, but the Kangaskhan barely managed to clip her leg. Asuna was flipped over a few times in the air and ultimately had to use her arms to cover her face as she slammed into the wall. The attempted dodge had prevented her from taking the brunt of the attack, but Asuna still lost about 30% of her health from it.

The Kangaskhan took recoil damage from the attack but stayed alive with the tiniest sliver of health. Not waiting for the Kangaskhan to recover, Asuna's Grovyle dashed forwards with a Quick Attack and chipped away the last of its health.

{Thanks Tight-Leafed,} Asuna thought as she got up from the ground and dusted herself off out of reflex.

{…} the shy Grovyle did not respond but merely blinked back at Asuna. She was used to this type of response by now though. It was what had inspired the Pokémon's name after all. She was currently much more upset by the Seadra currently laughing at her.

{Hee ho ho hee hu ha haa, you should have seen yourself flipping end over end like a football! You've been holding out on us Asuna, I had no idea you were a gymnast. I'll give you a 6 out of 10 since you didn't stick the landing.}

{Like a football? What? Hey wait, this was all your fault Surf Slave. If you'd used Brine after Flamethrower hit like I told you to then Kangaskhan would have been dead. And you have the nerve to make fun of me afterwards! Get over here I'm going to give you a beating.}

The Seadra shot a smoke bomb and disappeared into it with a smirk as Asuna sighed and began to search through her menu. Her Vulpix walked up to her and rubbed its soft, furry ears against Asuna's legs, giving her an apologetic lick for good measure.

{Sorry master, I should have warned you the attack was coming earlier so you could have dodged in time.}

{No, you're fine Kitsune, I spaced out a bit and it costed me. This was mostly Surf Slave fault's anyways but.. Actually, no, it's my fault. I still haven't gotten used to looking at what's happening elsewhere during battle without relying on you guys to do things for me. There's so much I need to learn and improve on that it gets overwhelming.}

Asuna sighed again and rubbed her temples before continuing her search for a healing item. It was important for her to be at full health at the start of each fight due to the nature of her team composition. All of her Pokémon were fast and powerful but had paper-thin defenses, just like herself. She'd really planned on trying to get a defensive Pokémon for her third-party member, but it felt like the Grovyle had selected her when she caught it instead. Perhaps it was best to go with her gut instinct in cases like this. The new addition to her team also had the added benefit of covering up her weakness against Water-types, something she would need when trying to acquire the HM for Surf.

"Ouch, looks like you took a bit of a tumble there."

The sound of a man's voice and jumbled laughter took Asuna by surprise. Leaping to her feet and firmly grasping her rapier, she was relieved when she recognized members of the Divine Dragonite Alliance with Lind at the front.

"… How long have you been there?"

"Oh for a fair while now. We felt it would be rude to interrupt your battle when you had things under control until the end. Proper dungeon etiquette and whatnot." Lind hesitated for a moment before continuing.

"I do hope I'm not imposing by saying this, but you should consider adding some more balance to your team. For a solo player like yourself, fighting with such an insubstantial frontline is playing with fire."

 _Actually, I do mind Lind. You don't see me coming over to you and giving you advice on how to run your guild or telling you to quit your petty fight with Kibaou,_ Asuna thought to herself while remaining silent. _I have no room to talk though after that display. I should be glad to be getting advice from one of the game's top players._

"I would recommend either adding a couple of tanky Pokémon to your team or leveling up with other players. I know this sounds like a recruitment, but even joining up with one other player or joining a smaller guild will keep you safe. At the end of the day you're your own person, however, I'd be very sad to learn that one of the brave clearers working their way through this game departed from our ranks prematurely. I hope you'll at least consider my advice."

The warm smile Lind gave to Asuna seemed very sincere and reminded her that regardless of what guild politics might be going on, he was genuinely a good person. She tended to forget that when she saw him arguing with Kibaou constantly and agreeing to kick Kirito out of the boss fights, but he truly did have the best interests of the other players at heart. Had she done anywhere near as much good for clearing the game on her own as the leader of a top guild had? Of course, he could just be putting on an act to convince her to join his guild in the future…

"Thank you for the advice sir, I'll take that into consideration."

"There's no need to be so formal. Ah, by the way, at our current pace we should be having the boss fight planning meeting three days from now. Our pace was a bit delayed this time around as to be expected due to the weather conditions, but luckily a mysterious ally appears to have assisted us in staying on schedule."

This comment drew reactions from Shivata and some of the other DDA members around Lind.

"Mysterious stranger? Didn't we already figure out who it is."

"He's probably just saying that because Asuna is here."

"It's not really a secret or anything though, can't we just tell her?"

Asuna smiled to herself as she remembered the figure of the swordsman clad in black flying on a Rayquaza through the skies. "No worries, I already figured out who it was myself. I saw it when it happened."

"Ah really? I wanted to drag out the big reveal."

"We can still make it dramatic. Let's go over the facts one by one."

"He wears a dark cloak."

"He's a very strong trainer."

"He fights on his own, he's not part of a team."

 _Yep, I'm surprised to see Kirito getting some recognition. Maybe they'll think about letting him back into the boss fights!_

"He's someone everyone in POW should know, at least if they have Pokémon experience before this."

"He's known for being the strongest Dragon-type trainer!"

This last comment got a few cheers from some of the DDA members who were beginning to get roused up. Asuna, on the other hand, had gone from confident that she knew the answer to extremely confused.

 _Wait what, who the hell are they talking about? Kirito doesn't have any Dragon-types, and no one but the top clearers really know him well._

"It's pretty clear that it's Lance the Dragon Trainer! A member of the original Elite 4 and a Pokémon League Champion!"

"See, the reveal was still fun even though she knew it already. We have to remember that he's an enemy we may have to fight one day in this game though, even if he's wicked cool."

"I wanna grow up to be like Lance one day!"

While the other members of the DDA were chuckling to themselves, Asuna was still very confused and whispered to Shivata beside her, "but, couldn't it have been a player? I actually think he looked a little like a player I knew in the game…"

Knowing what she was talking about but not wanting to embarrass her for her mistake, Shivata motioned to Asuna to have an aside with him and began explaining things once they were out of earshot of the rest.

"I know who you think it might be Asuna, but there's no way that's the case logically speaking. You haven't played the Pokémon games, have you?"

Asuna nodded her head side to side as Shivata kept talking.

"The description of Lance matches him so closely that it isn't even funny. I really can't imagine it being anyone else, but even if it weren't him, it couldn't be a player. For starters, just to get to the location Rayquaza came from, you'd have to Surf. Getting Surf requires beating Juan who is out of everyone's league right now. The Pokémon of the top clearers haven't even reached the lowest level of one of Juan's Pokémon yet, and he runs a rain team which is even more dangerous to fight against. If there's a player somehow out-leveling the top clearers, they'd still have to be borderline suicidal to challenge that gym at this point in the game."

Asuna hadn't thought about that before, and the realization made her gasp in surprise. Of course, there was no way to get the badge from Juan without any risks at this point in the game. She was also sure that Kirito's team didn't counter Water-types. If he'd been able to defeat Juan, it must have been by the skin of his teeth. Even worse, what came after that was…

"Second, they would've had to Surf to a tower and gone up to the top of it to meet Rayquaza. That thing is probably as strong as a Floor Boss and there's a good chance it's hostile. Going in front of that thing is practically a death wish. Even if they did do that they'd somehow have to defeat it or catch it or something. Most importantly though, even if he did, it'd be literally impossible for him to ride the Rayquaza. Riding Pokémon isn't part of this game, so unless he secretly has admin privileges, it's a safe bet that the person riding Rayquaza was an NPC."

Asuna began to wonder for a second if Kirito actually was Kayaba Akihiko, but quickly went back to worrying about her friend's extremely dangerous behavior. What had caused him to challenge such dangerous odds on his own just to seemingly stop the weather changes? She was still sure that it had been him she'd seen atop Rayquaza, but there was an important part of the story she was missing out on.

Resolving to pay Argo whatever was needed to find out the information she sought after the boss battle, Asuna thanked Shivata for the helpful information and proceeded on her way to the next floor of the dungeon. Regardless of what was happening with others right now, she needed to better herself first and foremost if she wanted to survive this game.

* * *

"Hey Silica, look at this up ahead."

"Is.. is that what I think it is?"

"Yep, it's the entrance to Dragon's Den. We finally made it!"

The small group had been walking and battling for the past few hours and were happy to have finally reached their destination. They were currently in a grassy valley with the rocky exterior of a cave on one side and a small hill on the other. Up ahead they could see a small body of water with an extravagant looking red house in the center. Behind the house was a small bridge that appeared to lead to a hole in the cave wall that Kirito knew to be the entrance to Dragon's Den.

Silica stared in excitement at the scene up ahead of her. _Wow! This place looks like something out of a fairy tale, I feel like I'm on a real adventure! I wish Pinachu could be here to see this._

"Grrrughr" a rumbling sound coming from the direction of Silica's stomach broke the serene silence and her face lit up like a Christmas light. Kiriko gave her a slight smirk and nudged Kirito's side with her elbow.

"Hey Kirito, wouldn't this be a good place to eat lunch? We've been travelling without breaks all day. Are you going to let our new friend starve?"

"Of course not Kiriko," Kirito groaned. "I was actually just about to suggest we eat lunch here anyways. I'm getting a bit peckish myself."

Opening his menu, Kirito began to search through his items for the food he had stored. He first took out a blanket and placed it on the ground before proceeding to distribute the baskets of food after everyone had sat down. The lunch menu for the day was various sandwiches from the restaurant they had eaten at yesterday.

"Ahh this feels just like a picnic back in the real world!" Silica exclaimed before taking a bite out of her sandwich.

"Has Silica gone on a picnic before?"

"I have, but only once, my parents took me on one when I was a little kid. It's nice doing it again even if we are just inside a game. It kind of relaxes me. What about you Kiriko? Have you two been on one?"

Kiriko looked at Kirito as though seeking confirmation before turning back to Silica. "Nope, I haven't. This is my first time! Hopefully it won't be my last."

The sounds of chewing and light conversation were interrupted by a bright flash of light and a booming sound. It seemed to have come from the hill to the side of them though and not from the cave. Raising his eyebrows, Kirito put down his sandwich and gestured towards the rest of the group that they should move up the hill and investigate.

As the group reached the top of the hill, weapons in hand and ready for battle, they noticed a large purple scar had been blasted into the trunk of a large tree in the clearing. The mark was circular and seemed to have come from a very powerful Pokémon attack. Looking around the area though, they didn't see signs of battle or any stray Pokémon. What could have made the loud noise they had heard?

Turning back to look down the hill towards their picnic, Kirito was surprised to see a blue Pokémon about the size of a dog sneaking towards their blanket. The Pokémon appeared to walk on 4 legs and had black fur on most of its outer body with small purple rocks of sorts placed randomly in the shoulder area. The black fur appeared to even cover where it's eyes should be and it had a spike of hair jutting out from the top of its head. It must have been relying on its sense of smell to walk towards the food, and it immediately began gobbling up sandwiches as soon as it reached the baskets.

Realizing what was happening a bit too late, Kirito shouted, "Hey! That Pokémon is stealing our food, after it!" The gang rushed down the hill in an attempt to catch the Deino but arrived only in time to watch the Pokémon run into the side of the cave painfully twice in a row before it managed to slip into a small hole in the wall and escape.

"My.. my food," Kirito moped. "It's all gone…"

"At least we were almost done!" Silica quipped.

"That's the spirit Silica! This will be a great story to tell at parties one day."

"We don't exactly get many party invites Kiriko."

"Not with that attitude," the disguised Zoroark replied with a wink.

Kirito sighed, remembering the lost food once more once more before straightening up and putting the incident behind him. "Well then, our lunch was cut short but we were about done anyways. I reckon it's time we challenged Dragon's Den and found Silica a Pokémon."

"Yeah!"

* * *

The inside of the cave was dimly lit by some unseen source of natural light. The uneven floor was littered with jagged rocks and large pillars that gave cover to the small Pokémon that skirted furtively through the shadows. The cavern was incredibly spacious and Silica wasn't even sure where the top was. She thought she heard the flapping of wings somewhere in the distance but couldn't pinpoint the location it had come from. There were deep pools of crystal clear water placed sporadically around the cavern, and Silica was nearly tempted to equip a swimsuit and hop in if not for the blue scales of a Pokémon she saw swimming deep in one of them.

"The scale of this cave is more gigantic than I'd imagined."

Kirito too was looking around in awe at his surroundings and Kiriko was moon-eyed. Fortunately, the Charizard by Kirito's side looked alert and battle-ready which put Silica slightly at ease. _I think that black Charizard has been itching for a fight every time I've seen it this journey. The black maid Pokémon on the other hand looks kind of, what's the word I'm thinking of, aloof? Something like that. He has a strange team. Way better than my temporary team of a ferret and an icy bird Santa though of course._

"It sure is, well let's get going. We don't have all day to look around."

While not all of the Pokémon in the cave were Dragon-types, the encounter rate for Dragon-types was far higher than normal. This was evidenced by their second encounter being a group of 5 Axew. Axew was a small green Dragon-type with a horn on the top of its head and white tusks on either side of its mouth. It was a bipedal Pokémon and had a height of only 2 feet which made it look quite cute to Silica. Still, its blood-red eyes reminded her that it was a wild Pokémon and thus could be a threat to her life. Kirito had warned her that their tusks could supposedly slash through trees.

Dodging out of the way of a Dual Chop from one of the Axew, Silica instructed her Furret and Delibird to attack it with a Quick Attack and Ice Shard while the Axew was in its cooldown period from its attack. With a burst of speed, both of her Pokémon rushed forward to deal damage with their priority moves, only for the Delibird to miss the stationary target entirely and slam the shard of ice into the ground. Forgetting that she could communicate with her Pokémon in her head, Silica shouted out in disbelief, "What are you doing Delibird?! It was just lying there waiting for you to hit it and you missed with an easy attack!"

Kiriko, who was watching in the background and apparently not participating in the battles today, snickered at Silica's predicament before replying. "Delibird has the ability Hustle which lowers its accuracy. It does have one move that ignores accuracy though, so if you need a sure hit then use Aerial Ace."

 _What a useless ability!_ Silica thought to herself while simultaneously circling the Axew. With a start it rushed towards Furret with a Dragon Claw, but the ferret Pokémon was able to neatly dodge the attack. Silica rushed forwards with her dagger to land a sword skill while commanding her Pokémon with a {Quick Attack, Aerial Ace attack, go!}

All 3 of the attacks landed and the Axew had its health significantly lowered to near the red. On the other side of the field of battle, Kirito had been taking on 4 Axew with his team. Despite the numbers disadvantage, 2 of the Axew had already disappeared. As she watched, Kirito dashed towards one of the remaining Axew with amazing speed and took away its remaining hit points with only a single slash of his sword. The other Axew burst into fragments of light as well from the combined burst of a ball of psychic energy and a slash of wind emanating from the Charizard's wings as they smashed into it at the same time.

His battle finished, Kirito looked back towards Silica to give her encouragement. "Go ahead and weaken it a bit more and then try to catch it! We're all clear on this side."

The 'motivational speech' had put Silica into despair at how far behind her partner she was. _If I try my hardest though, maybe I can catch up to him someday and pay him back for all he's done for me. Ok! First things first, I need to prove myself by catching this Pokémon. Two more attacks from my Pokémon should leave Axew in the perfect range to be caught!_

Bracing herself, Silica took the initiative and ran straight towards the Axew to draw its attention. The plan worked and she noticed the Axew preparing to attack her with its horn. Waiting until the last possible second, Silica feinted one way and then jumped to the other side while contorting her body out of the line of fire. Her dodge worked, and the Axew ran right past her, unable to land its attack. Silica commanded her Pokémon to use Quick Attack and Ice Shard.

Both of the priority attacks landed at around the same time. The combination did a fair amount of damage to the opposing Axew and drained its health quickly. Perhaps too quickly… moments later, Silica was caught by surprise when the Axew burst into fragments of light which faded away into the depths of the dark cavern.

"Ehhhhhh?"

"Oops, sorry Silica, I should have explained the rest of how Hustle works. It increases the Pokémon's damage in exchange for lowering its accuracy. A super-effective attack doing extra damage is probably what caused the Axew to die. My bad Sili!"

"Why didn't you tell me that earlier?! And don't call me Sili!"

Kirito smiled at the argument between the two. He was surprised at how easily the two of them had gotten along. "It's alright, we'll have plenty of chances to catch you a Pokémon Silica. Besides, you and your Pokémon are gaining experience from training in here so it's not the worst thing that you killed it."

Remembering that he hadn't fed his Pokémon yet due to the earlier interruption, Kirito opened his menu and found some food for Charizard and Gothitelle before laying it on the floor for them to eat. In the meantime, he went through his items list to see if there was anything that might help Silica or her team while they were in Dragon's Den.

A large booming sound in the distance broke Kirito's concentration, and the group all began to look around for the source. Chardcore immediately rose from the ground, nostrils flaring and ready for battle, and began to move towards the direction the sound had come from. Everyone else followed, and they turned the corner to find a large purple gash in a pillar similar to what they'd seen on the tree outside of the cave. The gash was much larger than before however and seemed to have come from a fair distance away.

"Oh not again," Kirito muttered as he turned back to look towards where they had come from. A small blue dragon Pokémon with black fur was sniffing through the food Kirito had placed down for his Charizard to eat. "I'm not letting it get away! Follow me Silica, stay close," he shouted as he and his Pokémon began to move towards the Deino.

The Deino noticed they were coming straight away and began to run away while simultaneously trying to force food down its gullet. Bouncing off of a pillar painfully, the Pokémon attempted to zig and zag away from them. Silica prepared to join the chase when she heard the sound of another explosion behind her. Had the blast they'd heard earlier not been a decoy?

Turning back around, she faintly glimpsed what looked to be a small blue and white snake-like Pokémon slithering frantically away from something while dodging blasts of purple energy. The attacks seemed to be driving it away from a nearby pool of water. What came into view next was another white and blue Dragon-type. This one however was much larger and flying in the air. Its wings and the bulk of its body appeared to consist entirely of fluffy, white feathers. However, this fluffy appearance was offset by the rampage it seemed to be going on in an attempt to kill the small worm-like Pokémon.

Another blast very nearly hit the smaller Pokémon but it managed to barely dodge while continuing to move away from the flying Dragon frantically. The next attack came even closer and the explosion shot the Dratini into a wall. Rolling down from the wall after the impact, its face came to rest in clear view of Silica. For a moment the Pokémon's eyes caught her own. It had vertical oval eyes with purple irises, and a small white bump on its head was perfectly spaced in the center between its wing-like ears. It gave off one last small, pitiful cry as though pleading for her to save it before closing its eyes.

Silica looked behind her to see Kirito running, about to turn a corner in pursuit of the Deino. _If I don't follow him I might not be able to find him for a while and I could run into trouble that I can't handle. If I try to save this wild Pokémon then I might die trying. Wild Pokémon are my enemies anyways! I have to make the smart decision and follow Kirito._

Running at full speed, Silica dashed forward and swooped in to scoop up the Dratini right before another Dragon Pulse could eliminate its health points. Losing her balance after succeeding in the maneuver, Silica slipped and tumbled onto the ground, but did not let go of the Pokémon as she rolled to a stop. She knew she should have followed Kirito and that the Dratini could turn on her and attack at any time, but she couldn't resist the pleading eyes of the small Pokémon as it had stared up at her.

Resolving to protect it, Silica set the Pokémon on the ground and told it to stay behind her. Silica's Pokémon rushed to her side as she got back up onto her feet to face the approaching Altaria that could very well be the end of her. Still, Silica did not hesitate as she ran forward into battle.

* * *

 _Phew, finally caught up to it,_ Kirito thought to himself as he cornered his quarry. The escape route that the Deino had taken to get away from him had finally ended in a dead end, and Kirito planned to catch it.

 _This Deino is a lot weaker than my Pokémon so I'll need to use weaker moves to target it without killing it. Deino is also a blind Pokémon so it might not dodge how we expect it to._ {Be careful when you attack it to not to hit it in the head and crit it. Chardcore use Ember and then Scratch while you use Mean Look Estelle.}

{Yes Guru Kirito, the target will not escape us.}

{Just Ember and Scratch? I wanted to teach this little punk a lesson for stealing my food.}

Despite Chardcore's grumbling, Kirito's Pokémon carried out his orders. Mean Look was an egg move for Gothitelle that could prevent a wild Pokémon from escaping a certain area during a fight for as long as the move was channeled. It could also have a similar use in a duel to keep an opponent from returning their Pokémon to the Pokélink, but as it required the user to channel, its effectiveness was limited during a real fight.

The Deino, unable to escape and unable to dodge Charizard's swift attacks without any vision to rely on, was soon left lying on the ground with low health despite its efforts. Kirito opened his Pokélink and selected a Great Ball. A Dragon-type would be an excellent addition to his team, especially in its final evolutionary form called Hydregion where it would gain sight, a wide move-pool, and excellent attack power. 10 or so seconds later, the Deino was caught and transferred to Kirito's Pokélink, he would heal it later.

{Guru Kirito, I believe you should focus on widening the diversity of your team. A powerful psychic like yourself must not be swayed to the dark side.}

{Yay! Another Dark-type like me for our team, maybe all of my teammates won't be weirdos now… It's eating habits worry me though, maybe it's a little too much like Master.}

{That Pokémon was feisty in battle. I will help you train that little runt Leader, I feel it has the potential to become my sparring partner in due time.}

Kirito half listened to the reactions of his Pokémon while attempting to sort through his own thoughts.

 _That worked out perfectly. Well, I would have liked to find one of its evolved forms instead, but either way I'm happy I've added a 4th Pokémon to my party. I'll have to try to prevent this one from getting killed like the last 3 though… Now that I've finished up what I want to do here- No wait! I'm supposed to be helping Silica catch a Pokémon. I wanted to get her one first but there's no rush anyways, I'll get back to helping her now._

"Hey Silica," Kirito said as he turned around to face the young girl he was partying with, only to find that Kiriko alone was behind him in her human form but with her tail wagging vigorously behind her. "Kiriko, remember not to show your tail to anyone else besides Silica alright? Where's Silica anyways?"

"Beats me," Kiriko said, spinning around in confusion to search for her friend. "I could have sworn she was following right behind me."

"Where could she be?"

The faint sound of a battle taking place back in the direction they'd come from silenced Kirito and his Pokémon. Giving each other a worried look, they began to frantically run back in the direction from where they had come.

 _Faster, I've got to go faster. Silica can't fight some of the Pokémon in this cave on her own. If I don't get there in time… I can't keep making these same mistakes over and over. What the hell is wrong with me?_

Rushing around one last bend in the cave, Kirito found himself at the opening of a wide, flat space with pillars littered sporadically throughout it. Looking around rapidly, he noticed Silica nearly straight away. Her health bar appeared to be nearly full, but the Pokémon he had lent her had taken some serious punishment from the Altaria that appeared to be her opponent. As he watched, the bird-like Dragon shot forth a Dragon Breath attack. The incredible blast of air nailed the Furret that Kirito had leant Silica and removed the last of its health.

Silica and Delibird prepared to counterattack, both rushing forward to deal damage with close range attacks. The Ice Shard and Sword Skill both took off small chunks of the Altaria's health but not nearly enough to turn the tides of battle. Recovering from her skill, Silica got ready to go on the offensive once more.

Beginning to move towards Silica while continuing to take in the situation, two unexpected things caught his eyes. First, there appeared to be a Dratini behind Silica. This worried him at first as he expected it to attack her as well until he noticed that it appeared to be cowering in fear. _She couldn't be trying to protect it, could she? No, she must be, otherwise she wouldn't have gotten into a nearly unwinnable fight without me._

The second thing he noticed was even more surprising however. In the shadows nearby him stood a man with spiky red hair. His outfit was blue with orange stripes and he had a dark black cape and black boots as well. The man looked familiar and the very atmosphere around him seemed to indicate that he was a powerful individual. Next to him hovering slightly in the air with a height of over 7 feet was a Dragonite. _No way, a Dragonite at this point in the game? They don't evolve from Dragonair until Level 55… This can only be one person._

The man seemed to be watching Silica's battle intently despite having a neutral expression on his face. Sensing Kirito's approach without turning to face him, he held a hand out as though to motion for Kirito to stop moving. At this moment though, Silica's inexperience with fighting stronger foes began to show.

Silica had just landed another successful attack on the Humming Pokémon and reset her distance from it. The Altaria opened its mouth and aimed at Silica but she dodged to the side before the attack could even come out and began rushing towards it. The Altaria had only used Growl however, a move meant to lower her attack power. The cooldown for a move such as Growl was much lower than the cooldown period for Dragon Breath that Silica had used as an opening earlier. As she and Delibird approached the Altaria, the Altaria recovered from its attack and readied itself once more.

 _This is bad,_ Kirito thought to himself after he ignored Lance's warning for the moment and continued to sprint forward. _Silica is going to get hit by an attack after her Sword Skill and she'll die if it crits… but I'm not going to make it in time! What do I do?_

The man now behind him seemed to have realized this too however. Without moving a muscle or losing a smidgeon of his calm, the man spoke only two words in a commanding voice. "Extreme Speed." What happened next felt like it happened in slow motion to Kirito but couldn't have lasted for more than a few seconds.

Silica, realizing that the Altaria was primed to attack but unable to stop the momentum propelling her forward, widened her eyes in fear as her sword skill activated. The two hits from her dagger were very quick but left her unable to move for a short time afterwards. The Altaria had been charging a dangerous-looking purple sphere of light in its mouth and aimed it directly at Silica. Scared of the impending attack, Silica closed her eyes and turned her head to the side out of reflex.

Kirito saw all of this as he registered a Pokémon speeding through the air right past him at an incredible speed. Barely noticing the wind now blowing his hair to the side, he watched as the large orange Dragon Pokémon flew forward towards the Altaria. Right before the Dragon Pulse could be shot at Silica, the Dragonite smashed into the Altaria, dealing massive damage to it and knocking its head slightly to the side which caused it to shoot its Dragon Pulse into the ground beside Silica instead.

The resulting shockwave still took nearly half of Silica's health, spurring Kirito on as he ran forward faster and faster. Reaching her before the Altaria could recover, he scooped the girl up into his arms and put some distance between them and the Pokémon before it attacked them once more. Out of the corner of his eye, Kirito noticed the Dragonite being returned to its owner's Pokélink. Once the process was complete, the man turned with a swish of his cape and walked out of Kirito's sight. Ignoring the questions this encounter had brought up in his mind, he placed Silica down on the ground with her back against a wall and began to check up on her.

The girl had just opened her eyes and looked around in wonder before realizing who had saved her. Her face turning a tinge red, she began to speak.

"Oh, you saved me again... I mean, thank you so much! It's just, I wanted to be useful to you but I'm just getting in your way and needing your help again."

"Don't worry about that Silica, friends help each other out. Besides, I didn't really do anything this time."

"Liar, but wait, is that Pokémon still alive?"

"Yeah it is, stay here Silica, I'm going to go take care of it. We'll catch you a Pokémon after."

"Wait! I-I know this is selfish of me after you just saved me, but I need to win this fight by myself! There's something I need to protect and I need to do it on my own. So thank you, and I'll definitely pay you back one day, but let me do this."

The look of determination in Silica's eyes convinced Kirito of what she was saying. He had a feeling it had something to do with the small blue Pokémon he'd seen behind her when she was fighting before. Sighing, he resolved himself to jump back in immediately and finish the fight if he thought there was any chance of Silica losing, but he nodded his assent.

In the time Kirito and Silica had been talking, the Altaria had switched its target to the Delibird. The Altaria had been chasing after the Delivery Pokémon nonstop and continually trying to hit it with its attacks, but the Delibird had been dodging like its life depended on it! Its speed was its highest stat and it was the only thing in which it could rival the Altaria. However, the Altaria was still faster and continually gaining ground. Its next attack would be sure to hit and kill, but before that could happen, Silica returned the Delibird to her Pokélink as well.

The Altaria turned to face Silica, its aggro changing once more, but Silica stood firm without showing any fear. The Altaria only had a sliver of HP left after the attack by the Dragonite, but Silica would die to one attack as well. The first to land an attack would win this duel. Turning slightly towards the Dratini huddled by the wall, Silica gave it a smile filled with confidence. She needed to be able to protect her Pokémon if she intended to become strong in this game.

Readying her feet, Silica stared straight at the Altaria. It seemed to be slightly more defensive now as if it had realized that it would die to one more hit. Deciding to take the initiative, she began to run directly at the large Pokémon.

The Altaria reacted instantly. It opened its mouth so quickly that the feathers covering most of its body began to rustle back and forth and it released an attack straight at Silica. Preemptively dodging to the side, Silica continued forward in preparation to use a Sword Skill which would end the fight. What came out from the Altaria's mouth though was not the breath attack from earlier, but a cute growling sound like before.

Kirito tensed up, his sword in one hand and already preparing to dash in to protect Silica. Watching Silica's movements however, he relaxed his sword and smiled in relief. It seemed Silica was a fast learner.

Dashing towards the Altaria, she readied to strike it with her dagger, but the Pokémon was not in a recovery period and decided to strike first with a Steel Wing. The Pokémon's superior range would allow its attack to hit before Silica's dagger could reach it. The Steel Wing never connected though. The stiff wings slashed at Silica hit empty air as her feint had been successful. Faking an attack and then dodging to the side once more, she finally lunged forward and plunged her blade rapidly into the Altaria's body. With a loud cry, the Pokémon burst into shards of light.

Filled with a sense of accomplishment, Silica was tempted to lie back on the floor and relax for a bit after such a tense battle. Remembering there was something she still had to do though, she walked back towards the Dratini lying near the wall.

 _I know that Pokémon doesn't seem hostile but I should still be on my guard. Silica isn't at full health and it a wild Pokémon after all._ Keeping these thoughts in the back of his mind, Kirito watched as Silica approached the Pokémon.

"Silica! Thank god, you're alright, I was so worried about you. I won't let you out of my sight again for the rest of the trip."

Kiriko however did not seem to want to wait until Silica had interacted with the Dratini and had rushed forward to put her in a bear hug straight away.

"C-c-can't.. breathe."

"Sorry sorry, I'll let you go for now. You've got matters to attend to, it looks like that Pokémon wants to be part of your team."

Silica muttered to herself about Kiriko's inhuman strength but couldn't stop a bright smile from coming to her face. Thanking Kiriko and walking forward, she knelt down in front of the Dratini and held out her hand to it as though it was a pet. The Dratini seemed surprised by this but stopped shivering and sniffed her hand like a cat would. Seemingly liking her scent, the Dratini looked up into her eyes before deciding to trust the girl and cuddling up close to her.

Silica patted its head for a while before opening her Pokélink and 'capturing' the Pokémon. It offered no resistance and willingly joined her party.

 _Well, this wasn't how I expected things to happen, but it looks like we both caught new Pokémon already. They're both rare Pokémon too! I'll talk to Argo about Lance later, but for now I should heal up Silica's team and do a bit more training while we're here. I guess all's well that ends well._

* * *

Silica, Kirito, and Kiriko were currently walking back from Dragon's Den after finishing their training. Silica was happy with the Pokémon she had caught; Blubbles was currently in the Pokélink. The Dratini's name had been inspired by its bubble-like mouth and its color. Kiriko had said the name wouldn't make sense once it evolved but she didn't mind.

She had wanted to walk back with it beside her but Kirito had warned her against it. Apparently, having a rare Pokémon could make you a target to other players. She wanted to believe that players wouldn't target others for their Pokémon in a death game like this, but she trusted Kirito's advice.

They were walking through a path in the woods and the sounds of insects and rustling leaves filled the air. As they approached a bend in the forest, a beeping notification came from Silica's Pokélink. _What's going on? I've never seen a notification like this before._

Kirito was looking at her Pokélink curiously too but seemed to understand what was happening before she did. Realizing there was no point in waiting, Silica opened her Pokélink and clicked yes on the alert notification. Suddenly, materializing from the link with a red and silver light was a Pokémon egg that fell into her hands. The egg was the same green and white egg from earlier but it had small black cracks throughout it that hadn't been there before.

As she watched, the egg twitched as though it were alive. She nearly dropped the egg the first time it happened, but as the egg continued to twitch back and forth with the cracks growing wider and small chunks falling off of it, she realized a Pokémon was hatching from it. Kirito had been watching the process, but suddenly turned his head towards the trees ahead of them and made a motion to Kiriko before moving quickly into the woods.

Silica was too distracted by the egg to notice however. The egg continued to twitch and shake about until a loud cracking sound ran through it with a tear running right through the center of it. The sides of the egg fell from Silica's hands onto the dirt trail where they shattered into glass particles immediately and disappeared. What was left in her hands was… _Another egg?_

Silica was very confused by the egg with blue and red shapes on it lying in front of her. The top of it appeared to have a different consistency and had 3 spikes. Suddenly, small pale-yellow stubs shot forth from 4 holes in the egg and the egg moved on its own, turning to face Silica. "Togepiiiii!"

The small Pokémon then hugged onto her while Silica's look of confusion changed into a smile. Kiriko was happy along with her but kept looking around anxiously for some reason. Deciding to check on the Pokémon's stats, Silica maneuvered the Togepi into her arms in a way that she could check her menu. Clicking on the newly hatched Pokémon, she observed its stats.

The first thing she noticed was a red circle with a plus sign at the bottom indicating its gender. It was a level 1 Pokémon so it unsurprisingly had very low base stats which she saw next. What it did have though was 3 moves listed under egg moves. _Egg moves! Aw it's so cute that she has egg moves. I guess they should just be called regular moves for her hee-hee. Let's see, we have Nasty Plot, Stored Power, and-_

"Well well, would you look what we have here."

A familiar female voice surprised Silica. _That can't be… Rosalia? Why is she here?_

The familiar red hair and slim stature of Rosalia appeared in Silica's vision. The 3 men next to her former party member she had never seen before however. One stuck out in particular, a tall man with violet hair. There was something off about his status icon though. _He has an orange icon instead of a green one. Wait, all of those guys do… Why is Rosalia teaming up with a bunch of red players?_

"Why, that looks to me like a Togepi, I wasn't expecting to see that. What a delectable treat. And if our intel is correct she may have a rare Dragon-type too… Wait a minute, you said there would be 3 of them Rosalia. Where's the boy?"

"I don't know, hey Silica dear, where's that other partner of yours? This will all go much more smoothly if you're all together."

Silica began to tremble as she realized what was going on. She had no idea what to do or say. These people might actually kill her. For some reason, that realization was 10 times scarier than when she had almost been killed by wild Pokémon. A warm hand grabbed onto her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her.

Looking up towards the owner of the hand, she saw Kiriko staring towards the hostile group with a gleam in her eyes. "Don't worry about anything Silica, you stay put there. I'll handle this."

Silica looked up at Kiriko in wonder. She hadn't seen Kiriko fight at all and yet the older girl was being brave even when approached by 4 enemies at once.

"Well, it doesn't matter, I'm sure we'll get confirmation on where he is soon enough anyways. Let's get this show on the road! You two, secure those girls."

"Come and try it if you think you can," Kiriko said while stretching her fingers out as a Cheshire grin formed on her face.

The two additional men on the enemy team pulled out their Pokélinks and released their Pokémon as though a battle were about to begin. One had a Nosepass and a Mankey while the other had a Beedrill and a Drowzee. Kiriko released Silica's shoulder and walked in front of her as though to protect her.

"…Hey Ray, erm, I mean Boss, it looks like this girl is gonna fight back."

"Yes, make sure not to harm the girl in the back, but aside from that you can use any means necessary."

"That's what I like to hear, Beedrill use Fury Attack, Drowzee use Pound." The first subordinate commanded his Pokémon into battle straight away much to the surprise of his partner who had not yet ordered his Pokémon forward.

Silica meanwhile was having a dilemma. _What do I do? What do I do? Kiriko is about to fight them all alone with no Pokémon and no weapon while I'm hiding behind her. I-I have to fight! Even if it's scary I need to be able to protect people too. I'll… huh?_

The scene that unfolded in front of Silica took her and everyone else completely by surprise. As the Beedrill moved swiftly forward to attack, Kiriko sidestepped it with ease. Despite her dodging the initial attack, Silica was sure the Drowzee's Headbutt would make impact with her friend. Yet something was happening with Kiriko's hand. The skin around it became gray and hairy while the fingers seemed to suddenly morph into 3 sharp red spikes.

It happened so fast that Silica could barely tell what happened. The Drowzee's head shot towards Kiriko, and in a flash, the gray hand that had just appeared slashed downwards with a shadowy aura surrounding it, knocking the Drowzee's health to zero with only a single blow to the head. The enemy trainers stood dumbstruck.

"Boss, sh-she might be part of the ninja clan. One of those expert martial artists who can fight without swords, this may be a bad idea if we anger them."

"That's no human," Ray said with his eyes narrowed and staring at Kiriko. "It's a Pokémon, a Zoroark to be precise."

"Aw it looks like the gig is up," Kiriko stated while her body transformed back into the darker form of a Zoroark, her Cheshire grin staying on her face the whole time. "I prefer my human form, but it's been a while since I got to really let loose."

Silica's eyes widened at this revelation. _Kiriko's been a Pokémon all this time. Why didn't she tell me? She must be Kirito's Pokémon but he kept it a secret from me too.. I don't understand this at all._ From afar, Rosalia noted the change in Silica's attitude who had been ready to fight mere moments before.

"Beedrill use Bugbite!"

"Nosepass slow her down with a Thunder Wave, Mankey get her with a Karate Chop."

As the attacks came flying towards Kiriko, the Zoroark dodged most of the attacks with relative ease, capitalizing on the Speed advantage she had due to the low levels of her opponents. "Hah, no coordination whatsoever."

What Kiriko hadn't calculated though was that she was standing right in front of Silica when the Thunder Wave was shot towards her. The field of electric energy passed by Kiriko but went straight towards her friend who appeared to still be in shock. Realizing she needed to move too late, Silica could do nothing but watch and brace for the attack as the Thunder Wave neared her, only for it to hit the Togepi she was holding in her arms. The Togepi was paralyzed by the attack, but as it wasn't really battle-ready anyways, it wasn't the biggest issue. Regardless, it tore Silica out of her own mental paralysis.

 _Kiriko is fighting to protect me from 3 Pokémon and 2 men all on her own. I'll think about why they lied to me later, for now I should help my friends._

It was at this moment that the Beedrill broke off from the attack on Kiriko to shoot towards Silica. Its speed was still very fast for Silica, and Kiriko was struggling to break free from her other opponents to protect her. "Target the Togepi, Bugbite."

"What're you doing you idiot? I never said to attack the girl's Pokémon," roared Ray. "If that Togepi dies it's coming out of your wallet."

Nevertheless, the Beedrill didn't appear to be stopping. Fearing what was about to happen, Silica remembered the last egg move on her Togepi's movelist. Not knowing what it would do, she gave the Togepi a command. {Mirror Move.}

From the Togepi, an electric field shot forward towards the approaching Beedrill. The surge stopped the Beedrill's attack in its tracks and afflicted the paralysis status which would slow its movements temporarily. Before the Beedrill could recover to attack again, a dark sphere of light shot out from a gap between the opponents and slammed accurately into the Beedrill's side. The attack once again took the enemy down in a single hit.

"What the hell level is this Zoroark?"

"We can't fight this thing.. we can't even hit it!"

Ray appeared to be frustrated by the incompetency of his subordinates, but before he could respond, a voice spoke up from behind Silica. "If you want something done right then you should do it yourself."

Kirito walked out from the woods from behind her with a look of confidence on his face. It seemed as though he was avoiding her eyes though for some reason. Could it have something to do with Kiriko being a Pokémon? It didn't matter to her, they had helped her so much and been so nice to her that she would always think of them as her friends.

"Ah yes, I've been waiting for you to show up. This is today's main event after all. You two, provide backup for me."

"3v1 seems a little unfair, don't you think?" Kirito asked while simultaneously sending mental signals to Chardcore and Kiriko. "Let's even up the odds a bit."

Ray's two subordinates realized with a start that they were being targeted but were too slow to prevent a Dark Pulse and an Air Slash from hitting their Nosepass and Mankey respectively. With no healthy Pokémon left to assist them, the two men gulped at Kirito's emotionless stare and returned their swords to their sheaths before backing away from the battlefield.

Rosalia sneered at him. "Don't get too cocky now brat. Ray here has been stockpiling high-level Pokémon from the players we've taken out. Have you heard the name FEAR? It's in your best interest to give up your Pokémon now if you want to survive."

"Quiet now my dear. This boy isn't like our other targets. I've been waiting for this moment. By defeating a top-level player, I will further increase my battle strength and make my emergence to the front lines. This will be a true show of my strength. Don't disappoint me now, boy."

"Right back at you," Kirito replied as he unsheathed his sword. He looked deadly serious without a trace of playfulness in his eyes.

Kirito's team gathered near him while Ray released his 6 Pokémon from his Pokélink. In front of him gathered a team consisting of Weezing, Arcanine, Victreebel, Lickilicky, Arbok, and Persian. Based on when these Pokémon evolve, Kirito estimated that his Pokémon were likely about 7-9 levels higher than his enemy's Pokémon considering Ray hadn't been on the front lines and was mostly stealing Pokémon from mid-level players. Still, Ray had twice the amount of Pokémon he did which could even the odds if he knew how to use them effectively.

This was no duel so there would be no announcement by the system that the battle had begun. Ray was an orange player so he would have no problems attacking first. Kirito knew however that attacking an orange player wouldn't turn your own cursor orange, so he began his attack at the same time in order to not give away the upper hand.

{Estelle, stay in the back and target Weezing and Arbok with Future Sights. With our current levels, it should be a one-hit kill if it hits them. Kiriko and Chardcore move forward with me. Try to land a Sucker Punch on the Persian straight away, it's bound to attack and it has weak defenses.}

Moving forward, it seemed that Ray had instructed his Pokémon on what to do mentally as well. How well he could react to situations in the midst of battle remained to be seen, and Kirito planned to pressure him immediately. Rushing forward as soon as he had the opportunity, he engaged Ray in a sword fight as the Pokémon spread out over the battle field.

In his mind's eye he saw Kiriko land a Sucker Punch onto the Persian and his Charizard shoot an Air Slash towards the Lickilicky. Most of Ray's Pokémon were slower and underleveled so they would have more difficulty than normal in dodging and landing attacks. Concurrently, his sword struck Ray's own blade and glanced off of it, but not losing any control over the sword he maneuvered it directly into another attack with minimal wasted motion. Ray seemed to be exerting his full concentration to the sword fight in order to prevent himself from being overwhelmed. Kirito's time spent alone training solo had come to fruition and was giving him a huge edge in close combat.

{Chardcore, if you can land a Fire or Flying-type attack on Victreebel it should OHKO it.}

{Got it boss,} his Chardcore replied as it dodged an Acid Spray from the Arbok.

The state of the battle was certainly in his favor so far, his team had landed decent chip damage on most of the enemy team while avoiding taking more than 20% damage themselves. Still, if the enemies learned to fight with more coordination then things could get tricky. As he thought that, he saw from his Charizard's point of view that the Arcanine had fired off a Flame Burst at him. It was a Fire-type attack that dealt moderate damage and could deal splash damage to anyone adjacent to it.

He could always dodge again as he had been doing with other Pokémon attacks and give Ray priority in their sword fight, but rather than doing that, he decided to do something unexpected. Anticipating a dodge, Ray lunged forward with his sword to cut Kirito off and force him off balance. Rather than retreat, Kirito activated the two-hit sword skill Vertical Arc. The downwards slash knocked Ray's sword out of the way as the Flame Burst caught Kirito in the side. Unfazed by the amount of damage he had taken, Kirito continued his sword skill, swinging his sword up diagonally to complete a V. The attack struck Ray directly in the upper chest and took away nearly 50% of his health.

Ray's eyes widened in shock, having not expected his attack to be deflected so easily with his high STR stat. Rather than capitalize on Kirito's delay before he could move, he jumped backwards to make space between them. Ray's lack of real battle experience was shining through.

Looking at what his Pokémon were doing through the 'screens' in his mind once more, Kirito saw Chardcore take an attack to the wing while landing a powerful Fire Fang onto the Weezing and inflicting a Burn status-effect on it. Estelle had just shot off another Future Sight towards the Arbok standing in front of Ray before taking a Normal-type attack from the Persian and being forced into a close-ranged fight. Kiriko seemed to be dodging and weaving between enemy attacks without much of a risk to her life.

Deciding that Estelle needed his help the most, Kirito turned around and ran towards the back of the fight where his Gothitelle was trying to ward off attacks from a damaged Persian. Ray, likely realizing that he was fighting a losing battle, took this chance to call out to his allies.

"Alright men, I need backup. Let's finish him off together. Members of FEAR, regroup!"

From the trees came… the sound of people fighting? _What's going on? It seems like Ray has more members on his team hidden in the woods. There shouldn't be anyone else around here that would be fighting against them though… Maybe they're fighting amongst themselves?_ Silica thought to herself.

Ray seemed just as taken aback by the lack of response from his team. Unfortunately, his altered mental state left him defenseless when the Arbok he had recently stolen from another player slithered out of the way of a Future Sight attack. The pulse of white light shot straight into the tall, handsome man's chest. He tensed up as he looked at his health bar, but seeing no change in his health, he ascertained that he must have been hit by an attack that did delayed damage. With his health below 50%, he needed to heal himself straight away.

Kirito meanwhile was working together with Estelle to take down the Persian. A psychic beam attack forced the Persian to dodge and Kirito was there waiting with a simple Slant attack to end the Pokémon's life. His Charizard and Zoroark were still engaged in battle against multiple opponents. Turning to respond to Ray's call for help, Kirito responded, "Oops, I should have mentioned it earlier but I already found the location of all of your men before this battle started with my Searching skill. It's a handy ability for a solo player. My backup is already here and capturing your men. Just surrender."

Ray wasn't paying attention to his words though. Worked up into a frenzy, he was attempting to open and scroll through his menu as fast as he could to find a healing item but kept messing up the maneuvers. This was the first time he'd been in real danger of losing his life since the start of the game.

{Kiriko, target Ray with a Night Slash. Estelle, channel Embargo and Heal Block. Chardcore, gather by me and protect Estelle. There's no telling what items he has but it'd be bad if he healed his team back to full right now.}

His team executed his orders to a T. Kiriko's swift movements towards Ray caught him off guard and he was unable to avoid the dark claws slashing at his ankles, taking away another 20% of his health in the process. Ray called the rest of his team over to surround himself as a form of protection, but when he selected a healing item on the menu it told him he was unable to use any items at this time.

"Give it up Ray, this fight is over and multiple guilds are coming to arrest you all. If you surrender now you'll be able to survive and even escape this game one day."

"You.. you idiot! What are you doing to my menu?"

"My Pokémon is using Embargo to prevent you from using any items. Like I said, this battle is over, you aren't healing your team."

Ray, concocted a plan out of desperation. He commanded his Weezing and Arcanine to use Smokescreen to cover the whole battlefield. Kirito called his Zoroark to come back and protect Estelle. Ray was no doubt about to try and blitz his Gothitelle to stop the channeling of Embargo.

Just as Kirito expected, multiple Pokémon ambushed his position. Between Kirito and his Pokémon, they dispatched of 4 of Ray's 5 remaining Pokémon. All of them had been low on health from the earlier battle and died in one or two hits. As the smoke cleared and Estelle's channel had not been stopped, Kirito looked forward to see that… Ray was gone! That was when it hit him, looking back and to the side, Kirito saw Ray holding Silica hostage with his Weezing beside him.

 _Why would he go after me? I thought he needed me alive to get my Pokémon. No wait, I'm so stupid. Of course he'd use me as a hostage to get at Kirito if he can't beat him in a straight up fight. I just stood here like an idiot and didn't move until he caught me. All I do is cause trouble for Kirito…_

Kirito was currently cursing his own stupidity as well. Ray didn't know or care what either of them was thinking right now though, he was employing desperate measures in order to survive.

"Turn off Embargo now! Right now, or I kill the girl!"

In order to show his seriousness straight away, he stabbed his blade into Silica's side, taking away half of her health in an instant. Kirito immediately yelled out, "Stop! Estelle turn off Embargo. You win the fight okay? I'll do whatever you want, just let the girl go." Ray had sacrificed his whole team aside from the Weezing. Did he desperately want to cure the Weezing of its burn-status before it ran out of health? Kirito was entirely confused by what sort of plan involved sacrificing 80% of his remaining Pokémon.

Despite having won the fight, Ray showed no signs of happiness and was still stabbing at his menu like a man possessed. From the sidelines, Rosalia watched with confusion on her face as the last few seconds of Ray's life ticked away, unbeknownst to anyone but him. As he pressed to confirm the use of a Super Potion on himself, another icon came up saying that he couldn't use healing items while Heal Block was in play.

Screaming in frustration and fear as his chest pulsed white before the explosion that would take away the last of his health, Ray stabbed his sword into Silica once more for revenge before the damage from Future Sight registered and took away his remaining HP. Kirito widened his eyes in absolute shock and terror as the bright shards of light indicating the death of a player illuminated the battlefield. He began to run forward but tripped and fell, his hands out as he caught one of the shards worried that it might be Silica.

His strength returned to him when the initial burst of brightness began to fade away and he saw Silica's outline still remained. Rushing forward, he resisted the urge to hug her and immediately opened his menu to trade her his entire stock of Super Potions and the one Hyper Potion he'd acquired. Her health had only a sliver remaining and he didn't want to risk somehow squeezing her to death if there was even the most remote possibility that it could reduce her life points.

Silica saw the shocked, confused, and relieved expressions all showing up on his face at once as she noticed the trade request he had sent her. She was experiencing all of these emotions at this time as well. As she accepted the invitation and applied a potion to herself. Kirito wrapped her up in a hug. "I'm so sorry Silica, this is all my fault. Thank god you're alive. I'll make sure never to… never again…"

 _Why is he apologizing to me? I'm just happy to be alive. You've saved me from certain death 3 times now and helped me catch new Pokémon. I have to repay you some day._

Before Silica could begin to speak, Kirito released her with barely noticeable tears forming in the corners of his eyes. Looking towards his team Kirito ordered all of them to surround Silica and protect her with their lives. Even if he got attack by 20 more players simultaneously he wanted them by Silica instead of himself. Surveying the battlefield, Kirito saw Rosalia attempting to run away. His backup was preoccupied so he needed to make sure she didn't escape or he would regret it later.

With his much higher AGI stat, he easily overtook her in a short period of time and blocked her path with his sword. Ignoring him, Rosalia went around the sword while sneering "I'm a green player, cut me and you won't be allowed in any towns or-"

She went silent as Kirito's blade pushed into her neck and stopped her movement once more. A slight push from the blade drew the smallest amount of blood and took away a few flakes of her health. The health loss was insignificant, but the action turned Kirito's cursor orange and erased all thoughts of escaping from Rosalia's mind.

"I'm a solo player, camping out for a few nights is no big deal to me."

Rosalia was silent for a few seconds before she started to laugh. "You know," she said between laughs, "I hate players like you who take this game way too seriously."

"What do you mean?" asked Kirito, thoroughly confused.

"You act like this game is life or death and don't bother having any fun. I've played plenty of games and I've never seen a game with such boring people just focused on just clearing the game. Let's enjoy ourselves while we're stuck in here."

"Are you insane? This is a death game. This game is the definition of life or death."

"Pssh, you'd have to be a total idiot to eat up that load of bull crap. Like they'd be able to get a product on market that could kill people so easily. There are plenty of regulations out there stopping this kind of stuff from happening. Where's the proof people are really dying?"

Kirito was stunned, he had no words. Had this woman gone mad from being in the game, or had she been insane long before the game ever began? "How do you explain the articles Kayaba showed of people dying before the game started then?"

"Like I'd believe the stuff that the man trapping us in here showed us… Wait, no, if you believe that stuff then that makes you a murderer! You murdered Ray believing that this game was a death game! What does that make you then? A lolicon and a murderer. Are you doing this all for her sake?"

"I'm not a lolicon, she's two years younger than me. And besides that, she didn't come up with any of this."

"Oh you're right, you used her as bait didn't you. Hey Silica dear! Did you know your boyfriend over here was using you this whole time? He pretended to be helping you out just so he could catch us and nearly got you killed. Did you believe he was really trying to be nice to you this whole time? You poor little girl. I bet he never even told you that girl you were with was a Pokémon this whole time. No need to say anything, you know I'm right. He even murdered someone in front of you. How does it feel knowing your fake boyfriend is a psycho murderer too?"

 _No, I can't accept that he was using me for this all along. He saved me in the woods without any idea of who I was. And even if he did use me, that doesn't mean it makes everything else pointless. He still saved me in the end, and if not for him I might have been targeted by FEAR later anyways. I know you aren't a murderer Kirito, I saw the surprise on your face when that man died. So speak up! Tell her she's wrong, don't let such a mean person make you feel bad with her lies._

Kirito didn't speak up though, his facial expression became increasingly downcast and his shoulders drooped. Was he feeling guilty because of what she'd said? It was Silica's time to save him then. Gathering up her courage, she opened her mouth and… was surprised to see a large group of men approaching them. There appeared to be 6 men dressed in red and yellow leading 6 men with orange cursors and their hands tied behind their backs. The leader of the group had a fiery-monkey Pokémon beside him and had red hair pushed upwards by a maroonish headband. Looking at Kirito, his face brightened before noticing the situation Kirito was in.

"Long time no see buddy, but the KGB is almost here and they're gonna flip if they see the black beater with an orange cursor. You better get going, we'll save the reunion for later."

"This man is a murderer! Help me! I'm innocent, can't you see my curs-"

"Shut it lady, I know you're lying. If you stay silent you'll be sent to jail and you'll survive until the end of the game. Try to escape or get someone I know killed and you won't be so lucky."

Klein's blunt response silenced Rosalia quickly. Kirito nodded graciously to Klein and sheathed his sword as he turned away from the red-haired woman beside him. She had shaken his self-image to his core after he had just begun to recover from his previous wounds. Too scared to look at Silica in case she hated him now, Kirito resolved that it would be better not to get involved with her again lest her life be threatened for a 4th time. Instructing his Pokémon to follow him in his mind, he quickly turned and fled the scene.

He was able to leave right before the KGB could arrive. However, one KGB player separated from the rest did catch Kirito's eyes with his own. As Kirito watched, a man wearing chain-mail and holding a mace caught his eye and gave a creepily cheery smile and wave. He was sure that the man had seen his orange cursor, and also noted how the man hid the mace behind his back as he waved with the other hand. Pushing that information to the back of his mind for now, Kirito exited the area completely and prepared himself to sleep in a dungeon safe zone for the next few days.

* * *

 **This chapter was mostly focused on Silica and Kirito. The tone shifted pretty radically from the start of the day to the end of the day but hopefully it was done alright. It was clearly based on the Silica episode seen in canon but it's taking place earlier on in the game so Kirito can't just stand there like a boss and let 5 guys attack him at once without moving, especially with Pokemon thrown into the equation. Klein didn't get to play a big part here but he'll have a major role in one of the upcoming chapters. Argo will also be getting back into the mix too.**

 **Kirito's 4th Pokemon is a Deino, which is a good thing since the name of my fic was starting to come into question considering he only had one Dark-type until now. He's back to training solo for a bit but he isn't going to be solo-playing the whole fic or anything. I've got a lot of events planned out for the Aincrad portion of this story which ultimately means it'll take a long time to finish. I'm enjoying writing it though and feel like it's better to have an extended Aincrad now than to regret going through it too quickly and writing the Dark-Type Swordsman Progressive later on haha.**


	16. Chapter 16

_What a troublesome quest,_ Argo thought to herself. She was currently at Moomoo Farm, a moderately sized ranch where many Miltank and Tauros roamed the open fields. There was no need to guard the animals here from predators due to the considerable power of the livestock themselves, and they were thus given the freedom to do as they pleased most of the day. The Pokémon did provide their owners with a profit though, as the milk collected from them was sold as Moomoo Milk and had the property of restoring 80 HP to an injured Pokémon or trainer.

Funnily enough, during the beta there had been a group of people who decided to use Moomoo Milk as their only healing items, stating that they wanted to exclusively give their Pokémon 'organic potions'. They had also joked that they were supporting local businesses in the process for an added bonus. There of course was no impact on the 'profits' of the ranch regardless of how much Moomoo Milk had been purchased, but Argo found the carefree mood of the playerbase in the beta nostalgic. She might have adapted well to her current situation by succeeding as an info broker, but she was just a gamer at heart. At the end of the day, she wanted to enjoy the world's first VRMMO without having to watch innocent people suffer around her in a cruel death game.

 _I'm no Superman,_ she reminded herself. _I can't beat this game on my own, at best I can survive, help the people I care about, and carve a path for people braver than me to make their way to the front lines. To do that, I need to level up my Pokémon, get a lot of Pokéyen, and acquire as much information as possible. Finishing this ridiculous quest will help in accomplishing all 3 of those._

There was a rumor amongst the clearers that Argo had charged her parents for information about how her day had been after her first day of elementary school. This rumor was obviously an exaggeration and a joke, but it did reflect what they thought about her to an extent. She charged Pokéyen for basically any question she was asked, and it was nearly impossible to complete a short conversation with her without money changing hands. Some people also wisecracked that one could raise their AGI stat simply by conversing with her for 5 minutes, as losing so much Pokéyen would leave you feeling lighter and more agile. She didn't mind the rumors though, if anything they made her feel oddly proud.

Regardless, she was widely known as the best and most reliable information broker. To this day, she would proudly maintain that she had yet to sell false information even once. Keeping such an impressive track record involved spending a large sum of money on her own to ensure that her sources and the information they brought her were trustworthy before she passed it on to others. Despite this, what many of the clearers didn't realize was that she sold information at a greatly discounted rate to new and mid-level players attempting to progress through the game. She had even spent a fair amount of her time making and distributing free guides for each area of the game. They were distributed for free after initially being sold at high prices to the clearers though of course.

From this information one might think that Argo disliked the clearers. She did view herself as a bit of a modern-day death game version of Robin Hood after all. Still, this wasn't done out of hostility to the clearers, they were simply the only ones with the income to help maintain her current business model. She had to eat, find housing, and maintain her weapons like any other player after all in addition to her responsibilities as an info broker. Even so, she knew that the clearers were the ones who would be necessary to clear the game and that strong individual players were a necessity. _Still, it's not like they can't afford it. They're still getting the information they need to stay safe, and if any of the lower-level players make it to the front lines then that benefits the clearers too. Besides, you can't run an information business like you would run a charity._

At the moment though, Argo was most concerned about Kirito. She had not seen the incident with her own eyes, but from what she had gleaned from the information regarding the Rayquaza spectacle, she was fairly confident that it had been him riding atop the legendary Pokémon. After doing some digging into the Moonlit Black Cats, she had also come to the horrifying realization that the entire guild had perished at roughly the same time shortly after she had talked to them. The guild had likely died trying to save Kirito, and while she didn't know the specifics, she knew that he had to feel horribly guilty about that. While reversing the weather changes may have potentially saved time and lives in the future, it was by no means worth the deaths of a promising, up-and-coming guild.

 _I was the one who told them where Kirito was. Maybe it's as much my fault as it is anyone else's._ While Argo had considered that she should be sharing in the guilt equally, she ultimately came to the conclusion that there was nothing she could do about it. She hadn't known about Kirito hiding information from the Moonlit Black Cats beforehand and it wasn't her intention to ask them to find Kirito in the first place. Sachi had directly asked her where Kirito had gone, and she had answered the girl honestly considering the peculiar circumstances. As an info broker, she couldn't bother second guessing herself if a player died after getting info from her. Surely there were plenty of other deaths that could be attributed to her if that was the case through no fault of her own. In the end, Argo's goal was to survive this game along with any friends she made along the way.

While she was far from antisocial, Argo had a hard time making close friends. Most of the relationships she had built up inside the game were business relationships rather than friendships after all. You could argue that it was a survival mechanism shared by many people in POW. A friend's death was a significant mental hit to anyone with the capability of making them, so having a coping mechanism in place to continue to grind through the death game was necessary. Even within guilds, players likely only had a few people they would consider close friends rather than teammates. Kirito was someone she had known since the beta and was one of the few people Argo truly cared about within the game. As such, she felt a duty to save him from himself, as she knew he was taking on more than any player should handle alone.

 _I thought having him meet up with Klein to take out that red guild might cheer him up. I know for a fact that he and Klein were friendly at the start of the game. It seems like things ended badly even if the red guild was captured though. Kirito ended up with an orange cursor and had to escape before talking to Klein, the leader of the death guild was missing and was apparently 'murdered' by Kirito according to the very trustworthy Rosalia, and a girl totally unrelated to Klein's guild, Fuurinkazan, or FEAR was at the scene when everything went down._

 _Knowing Kirito, that girl could have been a hostage he saved from FEAR, another romantic interest, someone he used as bait to lure out FEAR, or any combination of the three. I'm sure Asuna would be interested to hear about that second theory,_ Argo snickered to herself. _Still, the only way for me to check up on Kirito is to find an excuse to party up with him for a while. He's been pretty elusive and reclusive lately, but maybe this quest will help out with that. After all, having to travel all over the map to collect rare berries needed to heal a clairvoyant cow should have quite the eccentric reward._

Argo knew practically everything there was to know about the game at this point in time. The area they were in was still within the scope of her beta experience and Argo was particularly proud of her memory. She could remember basically anything that she read from years back nearly verbatim, a talent that would have been very useful in school if she hadn't focused on video games while doing the bare minimum to get good grades. As such, she knew that Moomoo Ranch was in the Johto region in the original Pokémon games, first appearing in Gen 2. She also knew that the only quest in this area that had changed significantly from the beta was this quest, which had originally just required 7 berries of any type to clear.

Being in such an out of the way place on the front lines, few people knew that this quest existed, and fewer still wanted to spend days collecting the items necessary to complete the quest for an unknown reward. Therefore, Argo had decided to do it herself, intrigued by the significant change. Most of the quests to this point had stayed the same as they were in the beta, aside from whatever the hell happened in the Team Aqua/Magma storyline that Kirito had gotten himself involved in. Leaving a mission untouched after that whole incident worried Argo, even if the clearers didn't seem to think that there was any merit in completing all of the quests in every area.

Focusing back on the task at hand, Argo walked into the farmhouse and approached the NPC with a golden question mark above her head. The NPC was a middle-aged woman wearing a straw hat and overalls. Noticing Argo coming closer, the woman spoke up, "May I help you dear?"

"Yes, I heard that your cow was sick so I took it upon myself to collect the berries needed to cure it."

"My my, why bless your heart. Bessy has been struggling lately and every day seems harder on her. Not only that, but she's an important part of our family business! We make most of our money through the sales of Moomoo Milk, but we also make a pretty penny from the people who come from far and wide to hear her predictions. I sure do hope she makes a full recovery."

 _So blunt! She's awfully straightforward even for an NPC. No matter, let's see what the reward is._

"I'm happy to help for such a.. noble cause… Here, let me take the berries out of my inventory." Opening her menu and selecting the items needed to complete the quest, Argo opened a trade window between herself and the woman. As soon as the items were traded over, a golden exclamation point appeared above the NPC's head.

"My my, why bless your heart. I'll go heal Bessy right now. Here, take these Moomoo Milks, my treat."

 _I feel like the programmers were a bit lazy with the dialogue for this NPC. And Moomoo Milks? Damn, it looks like the clearers were right to skip this quest._

"Oh, and one more thing. You look like one of the warriors trying to defeat the monsters of the dungeons. My husband recorded some predictions Bessy made long ago on a board out back. I'd normally charge a high fee to take a look, but I'll let you sneak a peek for free just this once."

The woman winked at Argo and ushered her to the back door leading to a fenced in yard.

"Be careful out there, for the past couple weeks the ground out back has been shaking. My husband is worried there might be a sinkhole or something but we're hoping Bessy will know what's really going on once she's healed. Take as long as you like!"

With that, the woman walked back into the house, leaving Argo alone with a large sign with writing on it. _I wonder if Kirito will believe me when I tell him about this,_ Argo mused. _This has to be the most unbelievable quest I've ever been on. Although maybe I've finally found the fortune-telling cow master that his Gothorita deserves. This was a pretty long quest though so I sure hope this board has some good information for me. My wallet is starting to stretch a little thin._

Argo walked toward the sign until she was close enough to see it clearly. It seemed to be covered with strange pictures, paragraphs, bullet points, and even a few short poems. Feeling a worrying rumble beneath her feet, Argo began to read quickly from the top. The woman had been unclear about how long she had to look at the sign, having at first offered her a sneak peek, but then telling her she could look as long as she liked, but warning her about a possible sink hole after that?

At the top, there appeared to be some kind of lore related to the story of POW titled 'An Ancient Mythos'. Of course, she couldn't be sure about that until she read it. She had been under the impression that most of the lore regarding POW was related to the Pokémon games, whereas this appeared to be almost medieval with drawings of sorts situated near the center of the words. In all 4 corners of the writing, there appeared to be the symbols for the different suits of cards used in card games. Hearts, Spades, Clubs, and Diamonds.

'Long ago, the world was overrun by nefarious groups and monsters of various sizes. Some of these creatures possessed such immense strength that they bordered on the degree of calamities, and the humans and peaceful animals were forced to live every day in fear of death and destruction. In order to prevent the world from being destroyed, the Gods granted warriors the power of the elements. These warriors wielded their powerful abilities to overcome the evils arising from the dungeons and to bring balance to the world. Led by the five users of the divine instruments, evil organizations and monsters alike were cleared from the land and peace reigned once more.'

Next, there were short descriptions of the abilities of the divine instruments with accompanying pictures beside them.

'Ace: The divine talent. An unmatched fighter accompanied by the furious flurry of their blades.' A drawing of two curved swords crossed at the top in the shape of an A.

'King: The immovable object. A warrior with impenetrable defenses worthy to lead an army.' A heavily armored person with an androgynous face crouching behind a large shield.

'Queen: The unstoppable force. The spear to the king's shield. An unrelenting attacker displaying the pinnacle of offensive abilities.' Another warrior of unknown gender wearing very light, almost transparent armor, and pointing a javelin towards the reader.

'Jack: The jack of all trades. Values balance in their fighting style above all else and displays no weakness.' Another androgynous human wearing armor and with a variety of weapons displayed on their person.

'Joker: The wildcard. A truly unpredictable warrior who utilizes a variety of tactics in battle.' The upper body of a person with a jester hat and accompanying outfit holding question marks in both hands while giving a sinister smile.

After these descriptions appeared a short poem.

'When the Ace did disappear  
The Joker did come out to play  
Plans he enacted without fear  
For his enemy was astray

Leader of the troops, the King  
Was watched intently by the Jack  
When his weapon left, the Queen  
A blade was pointed at his back

Leaderless and filled with angst  
The warriors overused their powers  
To the Gods they gave no thanks  
Angering divinities in their towers

The elements were sealed in turn  
Left only to the those judged supreme  
Yet it is fated, their return  
When suits are thrice within a team'

Argo wasn't sure what to make of all of this at the moment. Her first thoughts were that the lore left much to be explained and was seemingly focused around card games which seemed odd. She would have understood if it was related to the Pokémon card games, but this seemed to be based on a traditional deck of cards. From what she understood, the face cards along with the Joker and Ace would likely be players given unique skills of some sort based on the descriptions. She had no idea what the suits referred to though or how they could fit into a Pokémon game, and the story given in the poem didn't seem to be complete. It would be best to think about it later. For now, she had numerous other sections to read.

The next section that caught her eye below that was 'A Resurrection Predilection'. There was a picture of a tombstone with the date 4/9/2023 at the bottom and writing above it. Littered in front of the grave were what appeared to be Easter eggs, each with a number from 1 to 5 and a green question mark on it. There were also a number of bunny ears of various sizes peeking out from behind the tombstone as though a family of rabbits was hiding behind it. Having observed the drawing, she began to read the text in the middle of the stone slab.

'Greetings! An Easter celebration for trainers and non-combatants alike. The wild grasses and safe zones will have eggs hidden sporadically throughout them. These eggs will contain various items, treats, or Pokéyen. Be warned that wild Pokémon will still spawn and attack trainers during this time. For the main event, the 5 top solo players and the leaders of the 5 foremost guilds will be given the opportunity to compete in an egg hunt for a unique reward. The qualifying trainers will be designated by the Golden Easter Basket Icon during the event.

Participating members will gain experience for finishing the egg hunt so as not to punish participation, and prizes will be awarded to the medalists. Participants may form parties of up to 5 trainers who will also be granted experience and a share of the reward. Once the event has begun, participants may not change party members, and partying up with another participant will lead to automatic disqualification. A special item in accordance with the theme of the holiday will be up for grabs as the top prize. Additional information regarding this event will be released the day of at noon to those involved. Happy Hunting!'

In a different, much smaller font beneath that read:

'From whence two colors did converge  
Here latent talent did emerge  
Our colors combined, a purple mark  
From this location did first embark

Prime for fighting, kinda nosey  
Ate a chestnut, I'm a Poké  
Mon who punches, aims kicks low  
Key to find me, topmost plateau'

 _What exactly is going on in this game? Unique skills, an Easter egg hunt surprise, and Kayaba surprising us all with a riddle fetish? And I've only read two of the things on the board so far! I guess the riddles are just intended to be confusing, but I've definitely gotten more than enough info to make up for how long this quest took. I'll work out what all of this means later, for now let's keep scanning the board. These tremors in the ground are kinda worrying me after all…_

Looking further down the board, the next thing Argo saw was titled 'The Divine Bovine'. A picture below the title was of what appeared to be a Miltank with a crown on its head with two smaller Miltank standing next to it…

Argo felt a tightening feeling in her gut as she quickly scanned the text beneath it. She took a longing look towards the sections she hadn't reached yet including 'The Voice of the Forest' and 'An Invitation to Paradise' before turning away from the sign and rushing back towards the door.

 _As an information broker it pains me to leave without reading the rest of the board, but this is too important. I have to get to the raid boss battle as soon as possible. Hopefully the sign will still be there when I get back._ Another rumbling sound coming from the back yard brought a grimace to her face as she ran out the front door, but she didn't look back.

* * *

"Phew, I'm glad she didn't look back," said Red-Eyed Xaxa with a sigh of relief as the whiskered girl disappeared into the distance. His party of 3 had been about to enter the house when the sound of someone sprinting towards the door had caused them to rush towards the side of the residence and hide. "My heart was about to jump out of my chest when someone was running towards us at full speed like that."

"You're going soft Xaxa. If she'd seen us we woulda just had to kill her, that's all."

"Oh Johnny boy, you haven't forgotten the rules again have you? Besides, the Rat is much too interesting a piece to remove from the board this early in the game."

"Hey Boss, you don't think anyone else will be completing this quest soon too, do you?"

"No, I hadn't expected her to be here either, but the fact that the Rat was finishing up this quest herself means no one else is working on it. She's likely gathering information on the difficulty and reward for the quest before selling a guide for this area. We know from our insiders that the major guilds aren't working on this, especially considering that they're challenging an elemental boss today."

Entering the house, the group had a short conversation with the woman inside and traded her the berries needed to cure her apparently still sick cow before being ushered to the backyard. Black muttered something about it being much faster to just kill her or the cow but kept silent for the most part. The ground beneath them shuddered intensely as they made their way up to the sign, and PoH smiled eerily as he approached it. This was a far greater reward than he had imagined; Morte's hunch had been correct. Heeding the woman's warning, he gave instructions to his subordinates.

"Xaxa, read the sections starting from the bottom and copy as much information as you can down. Black, you start from the midway down and work your way up. Judging from the rumbling, something might happen to this sign for whatever reason..." His eyes catching sight of the picture in the 3rd section that he had just mentioned, the gears inside his head began to turn as he worked his way through the sequence of events that had transpired here.

The Rat had been running out of the house at full speed as though she was desperate to get somewhere. This picture was no doubt the reason for that, a change from the beta to the elemental raid boss battle about to happen. It would have been fun to delay her from reaching the clearers, but he had no delusions about catching up to her considering her AGI stat.

He needed to analyze this deeper, what else could he glean from this information. For starters, the Rat felt compelled to leave as soon as possible to warn the clearers. Was this out of concern for their lives? Or was it to prevent the clearing of the game from being slowed due to unforeseen deaths? He couldn't think of any way to determine between these two options at this moment in time. He didn't have enough insight into the Rat's sense of morality. Either way, this knowledge could be useful in case he ever needed to manipulate her in the future. If dedication to clearing took precedence over one's own survival instinct, it could very well be the death of them.

Going further back through the chain of events, he realized that any normal person, regardless of their cultural upbringing, would likely begin reading the sign from top to bottom. The text went from top to bottom after all, and there weren't any significantly eye-catching images near the bottom that would incline one to start from there instead. In all likelihood, the Rat had read the first two sections before reaching the third section where she realized she had to warn the clearers.

Judging by the desperation she had shown when sprinting out the door, this information would have a major impact on the outcome of the raid. She surely knew that the raid would be beginning soon, and as such she would be unlikely to read the information below the third section. This was vital as it meant no one else knew about the information at the bottom of the sign. Of course, this monopoly would evaporate if she were to return here later, but PoH was beginning to suspect that the boss battle and the rumbling sounds were mysteriously linked. He doubted if there would be a yard here to return to very soon.

His analysis done, PoH began reading through 'An Ancient Mythos', the smile on his face growing wider with every line. He wasn't entirely sure what it all meant yet, but he was confident that things were going to get a lot more interesting in the future. He would need to remind his cohorts not to tell anyone else the truth behind Kayaba's identity though, especially Morte.

Speaking of Morte, one of their moles in the KGB would be especially eager to hear about 'A Resurrection Predilection'. Morte had taken on a pet project of sorts, and as one of the most individualistic members of Laughing Koffing, it was good to let him express his creativity as an outlet. Truth be told, PoH was finding it difficult to control some of the more violent members of the group, much less his own bloodlust. Fortunately, today had given him renewed hope that he would soon be able to break the clearers from a mental and psychological aspect while preventing anyone from ever leaving this game at the same time. They would suffer in here as he had suffered in the real world, and he would savor every second of it.

20 minutes later, a giggling PoH and his somewhat uneasy companions stole their way out of the house after copying down all of the information as best they could. Mere minutes after that, a large set of double doors was opened in a dungeon located somewhere below the farm at the same time that the backyard of Moomoo Farms sunk into a sinkhole along with a sign that would never be seen again. The decision to ignore certain quests in order to defeat the Elemental Zones more quickly may have had dire consequences for the clearers.

* * *

"Let's go over what we know one last time. Whitney should only have two types of Pokémon, Miltank and Clefairy." Lind was standing in front of the entrance to the Normal-type Elemental Raid Boss while going over the agreed upon strategy once more. "Clefairy can have the ability Cute Charm, Magic Guard, or Friend Guard. Groups targeting the adds should avoid using status effects and contact moves whenever possible. If your Pokémon is afflicted by the Infatuation status effect, then simply switch and have that Pokémon assist in a different battle. Groups of Clefairy may reduce damage done to allies with Friend Guard so try to separate them from one another if that appears to be the case."

"Clefairy will use a variety of moves like Double Slap, Encore, and Mimic before it hits the 50% mark," Shivata added on. "None of these moves are very scary, but once it's health goes lower than half it'll start spamming Metronome. Metronome will select a random move and execute it, which means everyone, I repeat everyone, backs away when Metronome is used. I don't want anyone trying to get a few extra hits in and dying to a freak Explosion roll. Have your Pokémon tank Metronome attacks if need be."

"There's also the possibility of different adds being thrown in since the beta. Every gym battle thus far has had changes and we don't expect this gym to be any different. Be prepared to see Jigglypuff, Tauros, or Chansey. Your group leader will advise you on what to do in case of any changes to the adds."

This caused Asuna to look towards her group that she had been made the leader of. While she didn't mind being put in charge, it seemed odd considering the number of better qualified trainers taking part in this battle. That wasn't to say that her group in particular was very experienced. Her team was comprised of Nezha, Lowbacca, a new member of the Knights of the Blood Oath called Nautilus, and a red-headed girl around her age. She had been surprised to find another girl who was a solo player joining the boss battles, but all she had found out about her so far was that her name was Rain.

The raid was made up of 8 groups of 5-6 trainers, with both the DDA and KGB comprising 12 members. It had been decided to have 5 groups tackle the boss while 3 groups took on the adds. Three of the groups of the main force would be dedicated tank groups for Whitney and the 2 Miltank while the other two groups would deal the damage. With Agil's group having many tanky members and the KOB and Legend Braves wanting to be involved in the main fight, Lind had decided to mix members of the different groups together to appease everyone. While this could backfire on them, Asuna hoped that it would inspire some form of solidarity amongst the clearers.

Lind took command once more to add some important points about dealing with the boss. "Whitney will have two Miltank in this battle. Miltank will mainly use Body Slam and will heal with Milk Drink until falling below 50% health, at which point it will switch to using Rollout according to our sources. Miltank will also begin using Rollout if it doesn't take any damage for over a minute. Rollout is a very dangerous move as its damage will double with each successive hit and will make the Miltank more mobile and difficult to attack. Notable abilities are Sap Sipper and Thick Fat. Thick Fat causes Fire and Ice-type moves to deal less damage. Feel free to use them but consider switching it up if your Pokémon's attacks aren't doing much."

Lind's eyes stopped on a certain member of the KGB as he made his next point. "Sap Sipper means Grass-type attacks will boost its attack stat. I shouldn't even have to say this, but no one use a Grass-type attack on Miltank. This includes non-damaging moves such as Stun Spore or any other move with the word spore or powder in it. If you aren't sure of a move's type, don't use it. You will 100 percent be banned from all subsequent boss battles if you boost the Miltank's attack and endanger your fellow clearers. Do I make myself clear?"

A chorus of "Yes Sir's" echoed around the room while a tall and uncomfortable looking member of the KGB looked down at his feet, muttering about not even having any Grass-types in the first place. His point made, Lind continued on.

"The general strategy will be to defeat the Clefairy while keeping the Miltank above 50% health. Once the first round of adds are eliminated, one of the Miltank will be focused and killed while the other Miltank is still kept above 50%. When the new wave of adds spawn, we will repeat this process. This will allow us to kill each Miltank safely before the damage from each Rollout becomes too dangerous. Roles have already been assigned so let's do our best. Are there any more questions or concerns before we begin?"

The room remained silent in response to his question. Nerves were mounting as the clearers knew that something unpredictable could happen in the upcoming battle at any moment. Judging that no questions were forthcoming, Lind signaled for the doors to be opened and for the raid to commence.

As the double doors with a single horn on either side were pushed open, a loud rumbling sound occurred in the tunnels further behind them. This elicited some uneasy glances back towards where they'd come from a good number of the clearers. "Don't bother looking back men, we'll defeat this boss with no casualties and leave from the other side!" Still worried but with higher spirits, 46 trainers charged forth into the boss room.

* * *

{Tight-Leafed use Agility. Kitsune, nail this Clefairy with a Flamethrower. Surf Slave, Focus Energy.}

{…}

{Of course Master.}

{If you say so princess.}

Asuna instructed her Pokémon as she side-stepped a Double Slap from the Clefairy she was currently fighting. Ignoring the sarcastic response from her Seadra, she responded with a Quadruple Pain of her own, a 4-hit sword skill that could immobilize the enemy. Her sword skill chunked off some of the Clefairy's health before a powerful blaze roasted its side. She was currently fighting a single Clefairy as the other members of her group did the same. The Clefairy were much tankier than they would normally be in the wild in order to provide some form of a challenge for the boss battle, and they numbered in the double digits.

Seeing the Clefairy in front of her begin the motions for an attack, Asuna quickly retreated. The Clefairy did not use another Double Slap attack though, instead opting to use Encore on her newly evolved Sceptile. Encore would lock a Pokémon into using the move it had just used 3 times in a row before it could use a different move. _Well that works out, I was planning on having Tight-Leafed boost up to its maximum speed anyways._

Boosting moves were very useful in a Pokémon battle. If a Pokémon could get off multiple boosts without taking a lot of damage in the process then it would be very powerful for the rest of the battle. However, the benefits to boosting moves were deemed to be overpowered due to the lack of drawbacks they had when there were 5 other Pokémon on the field at one time to protect the user. If one or two Pokémon boosted their speed and attack significantly then they would wreak havoc on the other team, especially with speed boosts slightly increasing a Pokémon's chance at evading attacks.

To balance this out, stat boosts would fall off over time and a Pokémon would have to reuse their boosting moves to keep their stats topped off. This could allow a smart trainer to stall out an augmented Pokémon's power play. Trainers would have to capitalize on the time in which their Pokémon had increased stats to overcome the enemy's defenses.

For now though, her Sceptile using Agility was completely fine. They were only fighting one Clefairy and the rest of her team could distract its attention away from her Grass-type Pokémon.

{Kitsune keep using Flamethrower. Surf Slave, switch to Bubble Beam.}

 _It's fine to let Kitsune use up her Flamethrower PP against these Clefairy since the Miltank are supposed to have Thick Fat. I'll have her switch to Extrasensory against the boss._

The fight against her Clefairy was progressing well enough. She had been whittling away at its health and it was about to hit the 50% mark. "Everyone, this Clefairy is about to hit the Metronome range. Have two of your Pokémon tank or dodge your Clefairy's attacks while we focus this one down. Remember to back off as soon as we see an attack animation start!"

Asuna had instructed her group that they would take down the Clefairy one by one without letting multiple of them use Metronome at once. This way they only had to be careful about dangerous attacks coming from one direction at a time and the Clefairy would be able to get off only a few random attacks. While the vast majority of moves it could roll weren't a threat to anyone's life anyways, the only chance of someone dying to adds was a freak Self-Destruct or Hyper Beam landing, so it was best to minimize that chance at all costs. The only real downside to this strategy was a bit of time loss anyways.

Glancing around at the health bars of the other Clefairy, Asuna saw that Nautilus and Lowbacca had each chipped a fourth off of their opponents' life bars which was unsurprising with their more defensive Pokémon. Nezha had taken off a third while Rain had come close to beating Asuna to the mark! The look of slight annoyance on the girl's face brought a grin to Asuna's own, and it was all she needed to see to know that the girl was very competitive. _Not bad at all! Of course, I'd have been even faster if my Sceptile hadn't gotten locked into using Agility._

Taking a look at Rain's team, she was surprised to find it was made up of primarily Water and Ice-types. She had an Azumarill, a Dewgong, a Frillish, and a Piloswine. _Interesting, I wonder if she'll add more of the same types to her team. I don't understand why some people only use a few types like that. Of course, I probably shouldn't talk with my entirely offensive team…_

"Ok everybody, let's be careful but take down this Clefairy as fast as we can. We'll move on to Rain's after that and go from there."

Catching Rain's attention before charging in, Asuna took a moment to express her surprise at Rain's pace in fighting the adds away from the others. "Hey Rain, I just wanted to let you know I'm impressed with how fast you're taking down the Clefairy. I was worried you might be scared with it being your first boss battle, but you're doing a great job. Keep it up!"

Rain was clearly caught off guard and muttered, "Oh, Spasibo."

"What did you say? I didn't catch that."

"Ah sorry I was just clearing my throat, thanks Asuna."

With that, the two smiled at one another before dashing back towards the battle with their swords in hand.

With the group combining their might, the Clefairy took just two full rotations of their attacks to kill, and Metronome only allowed the enemy Pokémon to use Razor Leaf and Mud Sport before it died. Mud Sport's effect of reducing the power of Electric-type attacks by 50% was slightly annoying for Nautilus and his Stunfisk, but other than that it had been a perfect fight.

Asuna and her group continued to execute this same strategy against the rest of the Clefairy to great effect. The other groups were having similar success against the adds and one of the Miltank was nearing 50% health. The battle was going exactly as they'd hoped it would so far.

* * *

 _I'm sure glad I have more endurance in here than I do in the real world or I would have stopped running ages ago,_ Argo thought to herself as she continued to make her way through the Normal-type dungeon. She had begun running towards the dungeon as soon as she had finished reading the third section of the sign earlier, and she hadn't stopped for a moment since. The information was simply too crucial to beating the boss battle for her to leave things to chance. Especially since she had been involved in the raid boss strategy meeting a few days earlier and knew the strategy that would be in use.

This boss had been by far the easiest boss in the beta. While most of the boss fights had taken multiple attempts to beat, the Normal-type raid boss had actually been defeated on the first try. By this consideration, the current level of the clearers should make this fight a piece of cake if not for the massive change to the structure of the boss fight.

Turning down a narrow tunnel that was a shortcut towards the next floor, the sound of flapping and the sight of purple wings alerted her to 2 Zubat blocking her path.

{Back Talk, use Psychic,} she commanded her Girafarig without breaking stride. Her Ambipom and Raticate knew what to do without her telling them.

{I refuse, no stupid rat of a trainer is going to order me around,} the Pokémon resembling a giraffe responded back to her. More specifically, the small black head where there would normally be a tail had replied to her. The Pokémon's main head meanwhile shot off a powerful psychic blast that nearly one-shot one of the Zubat while apologizing for the rude behavior of its posterior.

{S-sorry, please ignore my lower half.}

Argo sighed internally at the behavior of her newest Pokémon as she finished off the damaged Zubat with a swipe of her claws. She had decided to add a Pokémon with Psychic-type attacks to her team to make up for her weakness to Fighting-types, but the Girafarig was turning out to be quite the pain in the butt. She had been beginning to wonder if the Pokémon's abrasive personality was a form of divine punishment for the relentless teasing she inflicted on her friends.

{It's fine, no more back talk though. This is a serious situation.}

{No more me? Goodness, what have I done to deserve this?}

{What gives you the right to say that to us?}

Argo's other two Pokémon gave her a look of sympathy while she herself facepalmed. _Why didn't I just name it Two Face. It makes just as much sense while not leading to these confusing situations. Of course, if I'd known this Pokémon would be shit talking me non-stop I wouldn't have named it Back Talk in the first place. I really need to make a trip to the Name Rater._

Argo made her way out of the tunnel and ran up the stairs to the last floor of the dungeon. Based on the amount of time she had spent making her way here she should still be in time to warn the clearers. Basically, once one Miltank died, a Miltank "king" wearing a King's Rock on its head would spawn. This Miltank would have higher stats, meaning it would take longer to kill while also dealing more damage per attack. The King's Rock would also give it a chance of flinching anyone it attacked which could be deadly. This would be hard enough for the tank line to deal with, but what made it even worse was that the Clefairy adds would keep respawning as long as the Miltank "king" was alive!

As long as she made it in time though, this should be easy enough to devise a new strategy against. The large Miltank would be easy enough to deal with if the first two Miltank were killed together at around the same time. Even without her help, the clearers might be able to defeat this raid boss with no casualties, but Argo didn't want to take any chances.

Unfortunately, a new obstacle was blocking Argo's path now, and it would likely be far more difficult to defeat than the Zubat had been. In front of her was a gigantic pile of dirt and rock that appeared to have dropped down from the ceiling above. A stake that appeared to have held up a wooden sign before was at the front of the rubble and there appeared to be no way over or around it.

 _Well shit… I guess I should have expected something like this. Far be it from Kayaba to make things easy for me. I wonder if I could have ridden the rubble down here if I'd stayed in the yard when the landslide happened. What to do, what to do… Got it._

{Alright Wormtail, let's get digging. Use Dig to clear a path through this rubble.}

* * *

The sizeable Miltank rolled into the waiting arms, shields, and various weapons of the tank line. The attack hit harder than the one before it had, knocking a few of the weaker Pokémon defending against the attack off balance, but the line stood strong without expending too much effort. "Great job! Switch!"

Excited yells broke out as the offensive team charged in to damage the Miltank while it was recovering from using Rollout. Another sizeable chunk of the boss's HP was chunked off and the Pokémon let out a loud moo before recovering to use Rollout once more. They were making great progress so far and this Miltank would likely go down after one or two more rounds of attacks. Having backed off after landing a vicious Triangular onto the cow Pokémon's side, Asuna looked around the room.

There were currently no adds left on the field, meaning there were only 3 battles going on at the moment. The Miltank she was currently engaging, a second Miltank being chipped down slowly by a much smaller number of clearers, and Whitney herself engaging one group of tanks and their Pokémon with an ax larger than her body and a gleeful smile on her face. Ignoring how creepy it looked for a pretty, young girl to enjoy viciously attacking multiple grown men and their Pokémon by herself, there didn't appear to be anything wrong with the current situation. That thought was tossed aside a few seconds later when the double doors to the boss chamber were suddenly opened and Argo stumbled into the room covered in dust.

Coughing and shaking her cloak a few times to get rid of some of the dust, Argo looked up to find that nearly everyone in the room was looking at her. Ignoring how nervous the copious stares were making her, she straightened up and dashed forward to begin relaying information to Lind immediately.

Argo quickly told the raid leader what he needed to know. Lind's expression paled as he heard more, but his face soon regained its natural color as he dismissed Argo and pondered his plan of action with his group. In the meanwhile, the raid group got off another round of attacks onto the Miltank after its Rollout was blocked by the tank line with a bit more effort. The Miltank only had a sliver of health left.

"Everyone, listen up! If you're in combat don't let this distract you from the battle at hand. For now, stop all damage onto the Miltank using Rollout. As soon as that Miltank dies, a final boss Miltank will spawn with unlimited adds." This caused some muffled gasps as the sound of an ax slamming into a shield was heard in the background.

"Our strategy will be to deal as much damage to the other Miltank in the meantime as possible. We can afford to let this Miltank use Rollout 4 more times before it becomes too dangerous. After the fourth Rollout, finish it off. We'll deal with the final two Miltank in the same way as before. With unlimited adds, we'll have to finish off the Miltanks without help from the add groups, but we should still be able to accomplish it without being at risk of dying to Rollout. We have what it takes to win this without taking any casualties, do your best! You all know your roles."

As the battle formation shifted, Asuna reflected on what Lind had said. Catching Argo's eye, she waved towards the information broker to signal her to come over. There was no sign of playfulness on Argo's face at the moment and 3 Pokémon stood beside her. Ignoring the urge to scold her friend for catching another Normal-type, Asuna immediately asked, "What do you know about the adds? What did your source say?"

"Sorry Aa-chan, my source was a sign with information on it from a psychic cow." Ignoring the confused and exasperated look given to her, Argo continued. "All it said was that the divine bovine would bring with it a boundless army of fairies. And I know, I really wish I was making that up."

"Argo, you aren't getting XP anyways since you're not in one of the groups, tell Lind that we can keep the Clefairy busy with fewer people and just not damage them to prevent them from using Metronome. We can send everyone else to help with the main battle. Go go go!"

"Sheesh Aa-chan, no please or thank you? You come from a rich family so I'd think you'd know better than that," Argo protested as she began running back towards Lind.

Asuna ran back to the battle at hand, joining the rest of the clearers in chipping down the health of the second Miltank. Quite fortunately, they were able to take its health down nearly to the halfway point without it using Milk Drink before they were forced to finish off the first Miltank. The power of Rollout doubling after every successive hit made it an extremely dangerous move to go against, and they couldn't allow it to boost the power of the move any more or deaths would certainly result.

As soon as the Miltank's health hit zero and it started to disintegrate into nothingness, Whitney stopped fighting. "Hmmph, I didn't want to have to do this, but you leave me no choice" she said as she opened her Pokélink and tapped it twice. Bursting forth from the girl's arm in the largest lightning bolt of red and white light that Asuna had ever seen was a giant Miltank with a crown atop it's head. As it spawned, twirls of radiant light circled down from the ceiling back towards the front of the room. As soon as they touched the ground, a Clefairy was spawned from each of them and they collectively gave off an unearthly cry.

As those meant to fight the adds ran back to the front while the main group of the clearers prepared for battle, Asuna quickly tracked down Argo.

"It's a no go Aa-chan. Lind says it's too risky if the Clefairy start using Metronome before hitting half health."

"And it's not risky trying to defeat a more powerful Miltank with fewer people? It has a King's Rock too which means it has a 10% chance to flinch the tank line with every attack. We need more people up there, if things get out of hand this entire raid could go south."

"I'm on it, I'll try to talk some sense into him one more time."

Worried, but unable to do anything else at the moment, Asuna calmed down and rejoined her group. Each of them selected a Clefairy to fight and lured it away from the others, but Asuna warned them ahead of time to just do minimal damage to the Clefairy with only basic strikes from their swords. There was no need to use Sword Skills with long cooldowns that would only bring the Clefairy closer to Metronome range.

Asuna instructed her Pokémon to begin boosting their speed using Agility while she herself fought the Clefairy with Kitsune. The Clefairy was slightly faster and stronger than the Clefairy from before, but Asuna was still overleveled for this raid battle. Dodging each attack deftly and retaliating with only a single jab from her rapier, she waited for Argo to return.

When Argo returned though, the look on her face said it all. {Tight-Leafed, keep the Clefairy busy while Kitsune tries to land a Hypnosis to put it to sleep.} As the fights in this game were not turn based, the sleep status would put a Pokémon to sleep for a random period of time between 15-30 seconds or until it was hit with a damaging attack by an enemy. This made landing a sleep-inducing move rewarding while not leaving a Pokémon defenseless for the rest of the battle. A Pokémon couldn't be inflicted with a status effect for 30 seconds after waking up either to prevent chaining sleeps together endlessly.

"Hey Asuna, I think you might want to let this one go. When I told him you what you said he cut me off and told me you need to respect the line of command. Right now he only wants 'facts' and not strategies on how to run the raid. His words not mine! He is in charge though after all, sorry Aa-chan."

"It's fine Argo, thanks for letting me know. You better get up to the front lines to make up for me being stuck back here alright."

Asuna smiled at her friend and appeared calm, but on the inside she was frustrated. _I know I'm just a solo player but I'm sure I'm right on this. He hasn't faced the adds like I have to know how best to deal with them. The other add groups haven't been told not to kill their adds which will only make things more dangerous, and I can't do anything about it. Also, if they can't kill that last Miltank then we'll have to retreat and recruit new people to start the raid over. I don't like disobeying orders, but at this point it can't be helped. If I learned anything from that person, it's that I have to be willing to play the bad guy if it means saving lives and beating this game._

"Rain, Nezha, Lowbacca, listen up. The clearers need your help more than I do. Get up to the front lines, I'll take care of your adds for you."

"Asuna are you sur-"

"Yes I'm sure about this. Get going now, we don't have time to waste."

Giving her teammates no time to argue, Asuna sent each of her Pokémon to relieve them from their individual fights. Nautilus's team was the least suited for taking on the Miltank so she decided to keep him on add duty. She didn't have enough Pokémon to cover for him too anyways.

This fight would be difficult and would strain her concentration to the utmost if she wanted to protect her Pokémon from being hit. One or two Double Hits landing would certainly spell the death of them, and she would have no time to heal them while fighting a Clefairy of her own.

{Hello, is this PETA? I'd like to report my negligent master for animal abuse. She's engaged in an animal fighting ring and is about to send us to our… damn, they put me on hold.}

{Shut it sea horse. Master needs to concentrate. We can do this!}

{…}

Asuna took a deep breath and concentrated on the other visions within her consciousness. Her Seadra and Sceptile had boosted their speed to the maximum so they would be able to dodge around the Clefairy's attacks fairly easily, but she was most worried about her Vulpix. Her partner for the longest time had no way of boosting its own evasion, and Asuna would have to rely on the experience they'd picked up in a solitary cave with no food and minimal rest, barely dodging every attack thrown at them. If they could survive that experience, then this situation should be a piece of cake.

{Kitsune, dodge to the left and duck down. After every dodge try to land a Hypnosis to buy yourself time. Tight-Leafed and Surf Slave, I'm counting on you to dodge everything without my help for now, but I'll buy you time to use Agility again if the battle goes on for a long time. Every so often inflict a bit of damage to keep aggro. Let's do this.}

Dodging an attack from the Clefairy she herself was facing with a quick side-step, Asuna jabbed her rapier into the Clefairy's side and jumped away from it right afterwards to focus on the vision of her Pokémon. She would need to keep her wits about her during this challenge if she wanted her whole team to survive.

* * *

Things were looking up for ending the raid battle cleanly. The second Miltank had been defeated much in the same way as the first, and the final Miltank had already been whittled down to around an eighth of its original health. They still weren't out of the clear yet though, as there was a very real possibility of casualties occurring if they didn't defeat it in time. Asuna was hopeful that would not be the case however, especially after sending 3 of her group members to assist in the boss fight.

She and her team had been battling 4 Clefairy at once in the meanwhile. If they had been required to kill all 4 Clefairy, then Asuna was doubtful that she could do it. Especially when things got unpredictable after the Clefairy reaching half health. Fortunately, her and her Pokémon just had to dodge attacks and inflict minimal damage to keep aggro.

Nautilus seemed to be doing fine as well and it didn't appear that any of the other trainers fighting the adds had taken significant damage or lost any of their Pokémon. Though as she took a second to glance over the battlefield, she noticed that the other groups appeared to be fighting the Clefairy seriously. _Just as I thought. Some of them already put their adds into Metronome range. Are they trying to defeat the Clefairy to get experience? Or is it just because Lind never ordered them to do anything different from before… Either way, someone could get hurt if things go on like this._

Making up her mind quickly while still paying attention to the fight at hand, Asuna called out to the remaining member of her group. "Nautilus, have your Pokémon distract that Clefairy for a while. That group over by the corner is seriously fighting the adds and they're about to take them down to half health."

"Say no more, I've got it."

Despite responding with confidence, Nautilus felt rather nervous as he sought out the leader of the other group. This was his first raid boss battle after all. More than that, when he'd first tried using the NerveGear he'd been notified that he had a Full Dive Nonconformity. He hadn't necessarily noticed anything wrong with his gameplay so far, but it was always on the back of his mind. Luckily, he'd been assigned to a group with Nezha, and talking to a player who was active amongst the clearers despite the nature of his FNC being much more severe had eased Nautilus's nerves.

Before he could reach the leader however, he noticed a DDA member about his age fighting one of the Clefairy nearby him. The boy had just used a powerful sword skill with his ax and had knocked the Clefairy below the 50% mark. The Clefairy recovered from the impact sooner than the boy did however, and it began to waggle its finger while making a cute noise. The cute noise and finger waggle sent fear running through Nautilus's veins, as he had already seen the start of the Metronome move many times that day. His group had gotten very lucky with the moves selected by Metronome, which made him worry that they were due for a bad role.

In fact, the gut feeling he had was that something bad would happen to that DDA member if he didn't get out of the way immediately. Nautilus didn't have some form of precognition or anything, but he trusted his instincts. The boy was nearby and stuck in the cooldown period that followed his attack still. If he ran there now, he could push the boy out of the way and potentially save his life. He might look foolish if it ended up being nothing, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

Thoughts about what would happen to him if he was too slow surfaced in his mind, the seeds of doubt, but he ignored them and put one foot in front of the other. No, his feet hadn't moved an inch. He tried to reach his arms toward his legs to help move them but found that he couldn't move any of his limbs whatsoever. What was happening to him? It was like there was ice water in his veins. The fear of dying in the process of saving the DDA member coursed through him like an icy current pulling him further and further from the shore. His body broke out in a cold sweat, and finally, a red icon with the letters 'FNC' popped up and continued to flash in front of his eyes.

Unable to move even a bit, Nautilus could only watch as the Clefairy finished wagging its finger. The Normal-type Pokémon began to turn a dangerous shade of red similar to a cartoon bomb right before it exploded. The reason for this animation was clear. If you saw a Pokémon turn this color, then you should get the hell away from it. The trainer from the DDA, finally recovering from his sword skill, began to try to run out of the way but tripped in the process. He likely would have been unable to escape the range of the incoming attack either way. Still, the face of pure desperation and terror the boy made as he faced his impending death would be etched permanently within Nautilus's memory.

The boy's Pokémon gathered around him in an attempt to shield him from the blast but it was no use. Moments later, the most powerful move in the entire Pokémon franchise went off. Explosion. The move's power was boosted by the Clefairy's Normal-typing and landed a direct hit on the boy and his Pokémon. The move was so powerful that it would never be used by a wild Pokémon outside of boss battles, and a Pokémon owned by a trainer that used Explosion would be unable to be revived. Even Megumin would have to think twice about using the move under these conditions.

Nautilus was glued to the spot and was forced to watch as the boy in front of him was blown into smithereens of pale blue and white shards of light, his life extinguished. He would be unable to move from the spot for another 5 minutes after the raid boss battle had finished.

The explosion caught the attention of all of the other clearers as well, but they were too experienced at this point in time to let it faze them. A moment of hesitation when fighting a gargantuan cow barreling towards them at faster and faster speeds could very well be fatal. Fortunately, the Miltank had been chipped down to a very low amount of health at this point. The tank line steadied itself for the incoming Rollout and took it head on, just barely managing to stop the attack without being blasted backwards. One or two more Rollouts might have easily made the difference needed for the Miltank to overcome the tanks, but it wouldn't be allowed that opportunity today.

With a collective roar, the rest of the clearers charged at the fat, pink cow with a crown on its head and unleashed their strongest attacks. From watching this final charge, it was nearly impossible to ascertain who would get the last hit bonus; based on the composition of the front liners though, it was likely a member of the DDA or KGB. Regardless, the Miltank's health bar finally disappeared and a banner with 'Congratulations' on it popped up in front of the entrance that Whitney would leave through shortly thereafter.

The Miltank's body suddenly began to spin and dissolve into smaller and smaller pieces. These pieces however soon morphed into small plastic bottles of what appeared to be Moomoo Milk and were launched throughout the chamber. Trainers quickly began to dash forward to collect the healing items, only to be disappointed by the expiration date on the items that appeared to be only effective for a few minutes after the boss battle ended. As the clearers healed themselves and their Pokémon, they began to cheer as they headed towards the exit.

Asuna was mentally drained after fighting 4 Pokémon with her team simultaneously until the end of the boss battle, but the feeling of accomplishment overshadowed her fatigue. She had passed the self-imposed test with flying colors and now felt more confident with directing her Pokémon during an intense battle. Perhaps it was true that pushing one's own limits was the best way to grow.

However, waiting for her by the door was Lind, a neutral expression on his face as though he were wearing a mask. He beckoned for her to come with him towards the side of the room, apparently wishing to talk to her in private. _I'm really not in the mood for this right now. What I really need right now is a nice, warm bath._ The exhausted Vulpix beside her seemed to agree.

"Asuna, I believe I saw members of your group fighting the Miltank rather than taking on the adds."

Unsure of how to respond to the direct statement, Asuna began to explain herself. "..Yes, but I-"

"I believe I ordered your group to stay and fight the adds."

"I know, but-"

"So did you or did you not blatantly disobey my order by yourself?"

"I mean… yes, but let me expla-"

"A man is dead. A member of my own guild. Dead because a member of this raid disobeyed a direct order. He would have survived if not for your disrespect towards-"

"Now you listen to me," Asuna cut in, determined to get her point across. "That man did not die because of my actions, he died because you were too overconfident to listen to other opinions. I tried to tell you that we shouldn't seriously fight the adds because we would trigger Metronome! But did you listen? Noooo. The members of my group wouldn't have been able to save someone from an Explosion that they didn't see coming. Hell, without the members of my group up there, that last Miltank might have given us a lot more trouble too."

Lind stood silently while staring at her before answering, anger beginning to show on his face. "You're going to blame me for this? After disobeying my orders and messing up the chain of command, you're going to blame me for the death of one of my own guild members, that I watch over like a member of my own family, directly to my face? I've just about had it with solo players who think they're better than everyone. Kibaou may have been right about limiting boss battles to guild members only. At least they can be held accountable."

"What was that? Sorry I didn't quite catch that, I was just walking by and figured I'd hop in on this convo," a third party interrupted. Acting as though she hadn't heard everything that had been said up to this point with her cat-like hearing, Argo entered the fray.

"Err, it was nothing," Lind backtracked. "I was just questioning Asuna on why she assigned her team to fight the Miltank against my orders."

"Oh sorry boss, that one's on me. I thought it would be best to have more people fighting the boss to make sure nothing bad would happen. I knew I could count on Asuna here to cover the adds for us. She did a great job, don't you think?"

"Argo, no I-"

"Ah Aa-chan, you're so cute trying to cover for big sister like that," Argo said while playfully ruffling Asuna's hair and not giving her a chance to speak.

"Ahem, yes I see now. If you think it was for the best then I'll let it slide this time. We're very thankful for your assistance today Argo. I don't want to understate our gratitude in the slightest. However, I would appreciate it if you would consult me in the future at least after making a decision like that."

Lind was being very agreeable, but he was still sneaking suspicious glances towards Asuna.

"Yeah gotcha Lind, you seemed very busy so I didn't want to distract you in the middle of an important battle, but I'll be sure to update you next time. On a more serious note, I'm sorry to hear about your guild member. I'd hoped we could escape this floor with no casualties but we ended up losing a good man."

Asuna stayed silent at this, remembering how only moments before she'd started an argument with Lind where she'd blamed him for the player's death. What Lind had accused her of had been wrong, but she could understand the feeling of wanting to blame someone else for a teammate's death. It must be a tough responsibility to bear knowing that you were the one at fault.

"I-I'm sorry too Lind. Just having the courage to step into a raid boss battle and fight for your own freedom is commendable. The real enemy in all of this is Kayaba after all, and, and I'm sorry if I was overly critical with you."

"Don't worry Asuna, you were right all along," the look on Lind's face just seemed tired at this point. He seemed to have taken more stress onto himself in the past few months than most people would experience in their lives. While the gore involved wasn't comparable, his role could be likened to a general in the military forced to make decisions that would affect the lives of numerous soldiers, all while having to adapt to the unexpected tactics of their enemies.

"I think I was in the wrong frame of mind after hearing my guild member died. I need to evaluate the decisions I made more thoroughly when I can judge them without bias. For now, let me just apologize for accusing you and call it a day. I do want to emphasize one thing though. I'm serious when I say that planning for raid battles is best done by the guilds," Lind stated while looking Asuna directly in the eyes.

"While solo players have their own advantages, deciding the strategy for a raid boss is not among them. If you believe you're acting to save lives, then disobeying orders once in a while might be permissible, but if you're serious about leading the fights against the raid bosses, then you need to join a guild. Agil's group is a bit of an exception, but no one wants a solo player with no one behind them making decisions in battle that impact their survival. The leader of a raid needs to be someone that people can trust."

His point made, Lind apologized and thanked Argo once more before leaving to join his guild outside of the raid battle. He had given her something to think about, but it was nothing that Asuna didn't know already. Still, she couldn't just keep putting tough decisions like these off.

Argo had slunk away before she could thank her for stepping in it seemed, and Asuna made a mental note to treat her friend to some tasty cakes when she next saw her. Seeing that she was one of the only people left in the empty hall, Asuna caught sight of Nautilus out of the corner of her eye and waved at him. He didn't wave back though, and Asuna decided to talk to him another time. She had enough on her mind at the moment.

* * *

Two people were in a bright room with white walls. Sunshine was spilling into the room from the window in the back, and there was a faint whirring and beeping coming from the machines lined up by the bed. Despite the door being closed, the sound of loud voices, footsteps, and wheels rolling across the floor could be heard through the thin walls. This noise was only a slight bother to one of the occupants of the room though. It was questionable if the second occupant was truly inside of the room after all.

His body was surely there, but his mind had been whisked away to a different world. The girl sitting beside him had no way to reach him in this other world. She had no idea if he was fighting for his life at this very moment or was sitting comfortably in a room far removed from the battles raging elsewhere. From a philosophical standpoint, whether the boy was in this room was a question of what constituted the self. If one considered the consciousness to be the root of the soul, then the boy had truly been living inside of the other world since the day he had put the cursed NerveGear onto his head.

Suguha wasn't thinking about whether the boy currently existed in this world or not though. At the moment, she was only concerned with how her brother's body was slowly deteriorating while he remained trapped inside a game. Kazuto had never been particularly athletic, but he did have some semblance of muscle. Running her fingers over his arm though, she could feel that it had gotten even skinnier. He was beginning to have the gaunt look of someone who hadn't eaten in a while, which was technically true in a way. The IV supplying him with the nutrients needed to keep him alive could only do so much to preserve his form.

"Onii-chan," the girl whispered as she put one of his hands between hers. "Why'd you have to leave me here alone? You were just supposed to be gone for a few hours before we went to get dinner together."

When her brother had gone upstairs to play his game, Suguha had expected him to keep playing until much later in the day just as he had done with the beta. She didn't plan on bothering him until later that evening at least, which turned out to be somewhat fortunate. Her mother had called her in a panic telling her to turn on the news and to not even think about removing the NerveGear from Kazuto's head.

When she'd turned on the news, she'd been astonished by what she saw. On every single channel she turned to was a warning not to remove the NerveGear from anyone's head and the number 231 plastered all over the screen. She was beyond horrified when she discovered that the number represented the number of people killed when the NerveGear was forcibly removed from their head. Later on, her brother had been transported to a hospital during a period of time in which the game's creator said no one would be killed for disconnecting from the game. The players had all been set up on life support in hospitals with state of the art Internet connections.

Suguha had practically lived at the hospital for a week after that. However, when it was clear that her brother wasn't waking up anytime soon, her parents forced her to resume her normal activities and wouldn't allow her to come to the hospital every single day. She had wanted to come every day, but their response that her brother would want her to keep living her life normally had struck home. Still, she came to see him every few days even though she knew it likely had no effect. She did hold on to the hope that he could feel her warmth in the game when she held his hand.

As her mind wandered, it came back to what her mother had told her a few days after the initial incident. Her brother was actually her cousin whose parents had died when he was too young to remember them. Her mother also suspected that Kazuto had found out this information himself around the time he had started acting coldly towards them.

While Suguha wasn't sure what had been going on in his mind when he found out, she could understand the reasons behind his actions a bit more now. After all, she was still trying to figure out how she should treat him now that she knew as well. Did their being cousins change things between them? She was inclined to say no at first, but he had certainly thought so if he changed how he acted towards her because of it.

The emotions she felt as she held his hand were complicated. She still felt as though he was a brother to her, more so than ever right before he had been trapped inside of the game. She sometimes viewed him as a boy rather than as a brother now however, and holding his hand like this made her feel slightly nervous in a way that it never would have before she found out the truth. When he had started acting nicely towards her again, had he done it as a brother or as a cousin? What complicated things further was that her body was beginning to go through changes. Along with the physical changes in her body came a flurry of new emotions and feelings.

She didn't need to dwell on these feelings at the moment though, as long as he was in his coma-like state they didn't matter. If her brother ever woke up again, no, when her brother did wake up, she would try to work through these feelings with him. For now, she just wanted him to come back home. She missed her brother, cousin, friend, or whatever else you wanted to call him.

A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts, a nurse had come to check on his IVs. She said it would only take a moment and could come back later, but Suguha had decided it was about time to head back home. "Stay safe in there onii-chan. You have people out here who miss you and want you to make it back. I hope you're not trying to be a hero in there."

As she left, Suguha began to wonder exactly what was so great about the game that had captivated her brother so much in its beta phase. She had a bit of experience with Pokémon as a kid, but she had never played one of the games or anything. The VR aspect to the game did seem intriguing though. She had heard about a new VR headset that had been thoroughly safety-tested and would soon be released to the general public. There were also rumors about a game similar to POW but with the ability to ride, dive, and even fly on the backs of your Pokémon. Perhaps she would give it a try when it came out. Maybe it would help her grasp what had initially pulled her brother away from her and into the world of video games.

* * *

Asuna was currently walking through Fortree City. She had originally planned on just stopping in this town to heal her Pokémon before continuing her training, but she had been so amazed by the town's unique infrastructure that she had decided to explore the small town first. The entire town appeared to consist of treehouses connected to one another by a continuous wooden bridge. Each tree had a ladder leading up it to the bridge and the circular tree huts each seemed to house a single family. If she had to pick any place to live amongst the cities she had journeyed to thus far, this town would certainly be at the top of her list.

As she marveled at the sight of the town, she caught something in her peripheral vision that seemed out of place. A boy dressed all in black was climbing down one of the ladders towards what appeared to be a Pokémon gym.

Not wanting to miss her opportunity, Asuna quickly climbed down a ladder as well and hastily made her way to the front of the gym from the opposite side. Catching him right before he entered the gym, she exclaimed, "Well if it isn't Kirito. What a coincidence that I would see you again here!"

"Oh wow, it has been a while Asuna," Kirito said while clearly surprised. "It is quite the coincidence to see you here. I guess it's a small world after all. Err, I didn't mean that as a comparison to how big the real world is or anything like that."

Ignoring his nervous rambling, Asuna quickly cut to the chase. "Can we talk? I need some advice on something."

Kirito seemed hesitant to join her, looking back and forth between her and the gym he had been about to enter. He instantly made his decision though when he saw Asuna's hand begin to slip down towards her rapier. A few minutes later they were at a small treetop café. After placing their orders, Asuna began to explain all that had happened in the previous two raid boss battles.

When she was finished, Kirito nodded his head while sipping on his drink. "I see, so you're not sure if you should join a guild or not and you want my advice, right? I take it you remember what I said about there being a limit to what a solo player can accomplish."

"That's the thing though. You say that, but there's no one else in this game that's accomplished as much as you have. All I see from the guilds are the leaders bickering while you're out there doing things that no one else can."

"Asuna, I'm not at all sure what you're talking about. The guilds have helped us defeat the last two raid boss battles and gotten us much closer to beating this game. I haven't accomplished anything since I got kicked out of the raid boss battles. If you can become a head of one of the guilds and help to stop the bickering, then won't you be accomplishing way more than I ever did?"

"Well, that last part might be true, but don't you play dumb with me Kirito," Asuna exclaimed as she gave Kirito a sharp glance that he could have sworn increased the temperature of the room by a few degrees. "A black swordsman was seen riding Rayquaza a few minutes before Groudon and Kyogre disappeared and the weather turned back to normal. To get to Rayquaza in the first place, someone would need to defeat Juan to be able to Surf. Beating Juan was practically impossible to do at that point in the game, and challenging Rayquaza after that would be even crazier. There's no one else in this game who would have even attempted that besides you."

"Ah, I see where you're coming from now, but you haven't played a Pokémon game before. That was actually an Elite 4 member named Lance riding on top of that Rayquaza, it happens exactly that way in th-"

"Kirito, I specifically saw you with my own eyes riding that Rayquaza. Most of the clearers might think it was Lance, but I know it was you. Why would you go to those extremes knowing you might die by yourself? You don't owe anyone in this game anything. Even though you saved the clearers in the boss battles, they repaid you by making you a villain and kicking you out from the rest of them."

Realizing that he'd been found out, Kirito decided to go ahead and answer honestly from then on. She didn't seem to be buying his story, and he didn't like having to lie to her anyways if he could avoid it.

"Asuna, they didn't make me the villain, I made myself into the villain. Where you're wrong though is that there is someone I owe something to. The reason I did those things was because I have a debt that I want to pay off, even though I'll never really be able to. No matter what I do, I'll never be able to make it up to them. But for as long as this feeling exists inside of me, I need to give it everything I have while I still can."

"Kiri-"

"I'm not strong like you are Asuna, in the real world I mean. You're smart, pretty, hardworking… a model member of society out there. I'm the exact opposite. My grades are just ok, I don't have any close friends waiting for me, I isolate myself by playing video games all day, and even if things were starting to get better between us, I pushed my family away over something that wasn't their fault."

Asuna smiled just a bit despite herself. Even though they seemed so different on the outside, they were really cut from the same thread. She had more academic rivals than friends, didn't know how to behave around her family with their high expectations for her, and isolated herself in the one thing she was good at. And she didn't even have a passion for education! She was trying to place highly on the High School Placement exams because her mother wanted her to, but what came after that? More school? A career she probably wouldn't enjoy? Marriage with one of the countless suitors her parents were constantly trying to set her up with?

 _No, even all of that is out the window now that I'm trapped in here. If we make it out of this game, at the pace we're going I'll still be years behind with suspected mental instability after being trapped in a death game. I'll be lucky to even get into mediocre schools. Wait up, did he say I was pretty?!_

"Anyways, I guess the point I'm trying to make is that I can't do much back home, but in here I feel like I can make a difference. I'm not a strong person, but I'm a strong player, so I have to do everything I can. Especially for the people I let down along the way. I can't tell you what to do, it's your decision whether or not you want to join a guild. Just know that I don't think there's a better person than you in this game to lead the clearers. Not many people have what it takes to become a leader, myself included. You have the chance to be the leader that brings the clearers together to beat this game. I really believe that you're the only person in this game who can do it."

Asuna smiled at Kirito. She still didn't know what had happened to him in the past couple months to make him grind so rigorously, but he seemed to be in a better place now. He was right about the guild too, at this point she wasn't even sure what was stopping her from joining one. She had talked to multiple members of the KOB and they had all said that they had the freedom to do what they wanted outside of guild activities.

"Thanks Kirito, I think I've made my decision. I just needed one last push in the right direction. Well, good luck in your gym battle although I doubt you'll need it. Also, we're friends, so I expect you to message me next time you're worried or trying to accomplish some impossible task. Actually, promise me that you'll party up with me again soon. We ought to do some training together with Argo for old times' sake."

"I think you'll be a bit too busy with your guild for that Asu-"

A rapier pointed at him as quickly as lightning made him rethink what he was saying as Asuna cut in with a, "Don't worry, I won't be."

"Ah, as I was saying, I'd love to party up with you again sometime Asuna, let me know when you have the time."

"That's better," Asuna said with a smile while sheathing her rapier. "I was almost starting to think you've been trying to avoid me. Well then, I'll be heading out now. See you later Kii-bou."

Asuna waved goodbye and began to leave after teasing Kirito with Argo's nickname for him. Kirito wasn't sure how to feel about the teasing, but, deciding that he could do nothing about it anyways, he began to prepare himself for his upcoming battle with Winona. It seemed that he would have plenty of chances to learn how to deal with Asuna soon anyways.

* * *

Silica was exhausted after another long day of training. As soon as she made it through the door of her room, she flopped down onto her bed without bothering to change her attire. Her Pokémon were in a similar state as well. Her Dratini hopped onto the bed too and curled up next to her immediately while her Togepi pouted on the floor, unable to make it up to the bed. It made a gleeful sound when the Delibird picked it up and helpfully flew it onto the bed before collapsing and falling asleep itself.

While the training had certainly been difficult, it wasn't the main reason for Silica's exhaustion today. She was used to the painstaking grinding at this point after all. No, what had truly tuckered her out had been the numerous pranks played on her by her teammates. For the first time, she was beginning to regret partying with Fuurinkazan. The guild had been very nice to her, and Klein had personally invited her to team up with them even before hearing about the events that transpired between her and FEAR. Even so, she should have known based on their personalities that they would celebrate All Fools' Day.

Thus, it wasn't surprising that when Silica saw a strange notification with the subject 'A Resurrection Predilection' pop up on her display that she initially ignored it, assuming it was another prank. Closing her eyes, she tried to fall asleep again before her mind jarred her back awake. Who did it say that message was sent from?

Checking it again, she was shocked to see that she hadn't misread, and that the message actually was from 'POW Notification System'. When she started reading the contents however, she began to wonder if it was an April Fools' joke after all.

"to those involved. Happy Hunting…" she said aloud as she finished reading the message. The contents of the message had been very confusing to her in her tired state, and she wasn't sure if she'd entirely understood what it was talking about. A notification that she had received another message popped up soon after. This one was from Klein, and it was addressed to her and the members of Fuurinkazan.

'Turns out we're the 5th rated guild so we'll be involved in this Easter Egg Hunt! Hope you're all excited, not an April Fools' prank I swear. Only parties of 5 can participate so let me know who wants to go.'

As she thought about it, the name of the event, 'A Resurrection Predilection', returned to her mind. Harkening back to her time with Kirito, she remembered the story he'd told her about his old guild. If there was a chance of a resurrection item existing, then there was no doubt that he would be participating in this contest.

Silica had been feeling regretful ever since Rosalia had hurled insults at Kirito in front of her and she hadn't said anything to stop her. Sure, she had been traumatized by nearly being killed moments earlier and shocked by finding out that the girl she had become good friends with was actually a Pokémon, but that didn't make up for her not doing anything to stop the awful woman who had insulted her friend. If she had only shouted out to him, then maybe he wouldn't have left the scene with such a depressed look on his face.

Resolving to find him and make things right, Silica sent a message to Klein indicting that she wanted to be a part of the group no matter what. A resurrection item sounded too good to be true, and if things went as she expected, then she would be there to comfort her rescuer in his time of need this time for sure.

* * *

 **So that concludes this chapter. I tend to makes some references without knowing if they're common knowledge or not so I'll explain a few of them here shortly. The KGB in real life was the main security agency for the Soviet Union and is known for its brutal methods. It's similar to the CIA of the United States. The reason I had the Army change their name to the KGB is to show that Kibaou wanted to intimidate others with their guild name while also involving a Pokemon that fit their color scheme. I also mentioned Megumin in this chapter. Megumin is a mage in an anime called Konosuba, and the only magic she uses is Explosion Magic which leaves her unable to move for a while after using it and takes her a full day to recharge. It's a very funny show and I'd recommend watching it if you like SAO.**

 **Moving on, a lot more happened in this chapter than I was initially expecting. I'm hoping the poems did an okay job of foreshadowing some future events without being too easy to decipher. Feel free to guess the answer to the Easter poem; I think it's a pretty easy one but I really have no way of judging its difficulty since I had the answer in mind while writing it. I'm not sure if Easter is celebrated in Japan, but I had originally planned on having a Christmas event only to realize that it made no sense based on the timeline so far. I decided to use Easter instead which did allow me to change things up more so from canon with the Easter Egg Hunt involving the game's top players. The next chapter will be an Easter special and will resolve a few story lines for good so stay tuned.**

 **Besides that, the 4th raid boss is cleared, Asuna decides to join a guild, Argo's third Pokemon is revealed, and Suguha gets a small POV. Since Aincrad is getting extended, I wanted to give readers a glimpse of what's going on with best imouto back in the real world. She won't be getting much screen time until the Fairy Dance arc but she'll definitely play a major role there. I've been a bit wishy-washy about using the honorifics since it seemed weird to have everyone use them while writing the story in English, but I think I've decided on using them only for certain character interactions. Namely Argo using Kii-bou/Aa-chan, Asuna using Kirito-kun, and Suguha using onii-chan. Oh, and Laughing Koffing gets exclusive information on some things going on later in the game but that seems like a pretty minor thing.**


	17. Chapter 17

"Kii-bou! Over here!"

Argo waved towards her partner for the day from the branches of a small tree. Kirito looked up towards where she was sitting and turned his feet in her direction. Having caught his attention, Argo dropped the few meters towards the ground. She was jogging towards him seemingly before she even hit the ground in a display of her nimble athleticism. This was only to be expected from the person who had climbed the most trees in the game, a rather meaningless accomplishment.

Ignoring this, Kirito got straight down to business. "You're sure this is the right place?"

"Jeez," Argo scowled at Kirito. "Your bosom friend goes out of her way to do you a favor and you don't even greet her properly? If Kiriko weren't in your Pokélink I'd imagine she'd be scolding you right now."

"What favor? You made me pay for the information and forced your way onto my team. You wouldn't even be able to participate if not for me!"

"Now now, that's not really here nor there. Besides, I only sold this whole scoop to you y'know? I coulda made a pretty penny by selling this info to everyone."

"Well… that's true actually. You would've hurt your chances at winning the prize though."

 _I can't say I'm not curious about what the prize is, but if it's a resurrection item like expected, then I doubt it could compare to the cash I'd get from selling the first clue. I'm doing this for you, dummy._

Perhaps realizing this, Kirito changed his tune. "But still, sorry about that. I really am grateful for your help," he mumbled to her.

"Hey Kirito, are you getting enough sleep? You don't look too good."

The bags under Kirito's eyes had returned. When was the last time Argo had seen him looking normal? Klein and the girl who had joined his guild both said Kirito looked fine during the FEAR incident, but he clearly had somewhat regressed.

"It's not what you think. I know you and Kiriko are looking out for me but I know the limits of my body. I won't pass out during a b-.. I mean, I won't over-train anymore."

"I just heard something I definitely can't ignore… but we'll go over that later. You do realize training for today is silly right? This is a battle of wits, and getting a good night's sleep is much more important than a few extra EXP points."

"I know that, it's not like I stayed up training too long. I just, couldn't fall asleep…" Kirito trailed off while averting his eyes.

 _I'm sorry Kii-bou, nobody should have to go through what you did. I know what you went through but now's not the time for me to bring it up. I should try to raise his spirits a bit. Or rather… that would work too._

A mischievous grin broke out on Argo's face. "Could it be you can't fall asleep without being cuddled by a younger girl now? That Silica sure did a number on you."

"How the hell did you find about that?!" Kirito yelled as his face turned beet red. His slightly depressed mood had transformed into embarrassment in an instant.

"Fufufu, you can't keep secrets from oneesan."

"Don't call yourself my sister! I'm fine with just the one."

"Oh yeah, I remember you have a younger sister now. Could that be where your fetish for younger girls comes from?"

"I don't have any sort of preference for younger girls! Gah, talking with you is exhausting."

Kirito began rubbing his tired eyes as he cooled off from his humiliation at Argo's hands. Thinking to change the topic before anymore damage could be inflicted onto him, he hurriedly returned to his initial question from earlier.

"So, this really is the right place though, right? The contest starts in less than half an hour, so it'd be bad if this turned out to be the wrong spot after all."

 _Well, I guess I've teased him enough for now. His face looks a bit better than earlier. Although I don't know why he's so worried about this._

"You looked at the riddle too, didn't you? I can't imagine it being anywhere other than the northernmost plateau in Pallet Town. The two colors that make purple are blue and red and they came from Pallet Town. Topmost plateau could mean the northmost or the highest elevated plateau, but where we're at meets both of those criteria. Besides, Mankey and Primeape can both be caught here. It's not like it was a difficult riddle."

"No that's not what I mean. I agree on how you solved the riddle, but can the source be trusted? It still seems a bit sketchy to me."

"Well, I think it's weird too, but the information on there is definitely accurate. It had the exact same message announcing the event on there and also had important information about the boss battle against Whitney. Unfortunately, the sign disappeared before I could read all of it, but it did have one other very important piece of information…"

"Oh right, I heard about your heroics at the last raid boss fight. Nice work. So what's this other information you're talking about."

"Well you know, this is very exclusive information that could have a major impact on the future of the game. If I had to describe it with one word, I would call it valuable. In fact, I'm not sure if I should be giving out this information to just any-"

"I get it already! I'll pay however much Pokéyen you want. Just send me the request."

Argo's fingers deftly maneuvered through her menu and Kirito soon received a notification on his Pokélink. Despite knowing what was coming, Kirito's eyes widened at the higher than expected amount of in-game-currency requested from him. He clicked the button to accept without hesitation however.

"This must be pretty important to charge me so-"

Kirito stopped talking abruptly as he noticed a group of players out of the corner of his eyes. From the colors they wore he recognized them immediately as members of the KGB. Kibaou's unmistakable form was in the front and he was followed by a tall, lanky man and two other members.

Noticing where Kirito's eyes had gone, Argo turned to look and was surprised as well.

"What are they doing here? I didn't think anyone else managed to beat that quest in time."

"Could it just be a coincidence?"

"Fat chance of that, this map is huge. Even if they expected it to start in Pallet Town, coming to this plateau shows they know what they're doing. You didn't leak this information to anyone, right Kii-bou?"

"Of course not, and do you really think I have anyone in the KGB on my friend's list?"

"My bad, I forgot everyone hates you."

Argo gave Kirito a quick smirk before her face turned serious again.

"Still, I didn't tell anyone else the second half of the riddle. Someone else must have finished that quest before the time limit. If it was someone from the KGB, they might gain a massive advantage over the DDA… Let's tail them."

Coming to a decision quickly, Argo tossed her hood over her head and hunched over to lower her height. Kirito didn't have a hood, but before he could equip different clothes from his inventory Argo grabbed his hand and began running secretively from tree to tree. Her footsteps were nearly completely silent and she used the natural foliage as much as possible to remain hidden. At this rate, Kirito was worried his own footsteps would give them away.

Something about the situation didn't sit right with Kirito though. However, he couldn't place his finger on what it was. Perhaps it had something to do with the FEAR incident. What had unnerved Kirito about the incident had been the man with the mace who'd made eye contact with him. Was he not part of their group today? Unless…

"Argo, hold up, they're missing their 5th member."

"Oh my, are you by chance talking about little ol' me?"

Argo and Kirito both jumped in surprise simultaneously and turned around. Facing them with a devilish grin on his face was a man about Kirito's height wearing dark gray scale mail. His boots and gloves were made of the same material, but his distinguishing feature was the chain mail coif that dangled from his head to his shoulders. The metal hood covered his eyes and tendrils of chains hung from his helmet like locks of hair.

"Oops, I didn't mean to scare you, I was just so excited to meet two POW celebrities in the flesh. I'm an especially big fan of your work, Kirito the Beater. I'm just positively squirming at the thought of getting your autograph."

"Morte of the KGB..."

"As expected of Argo the Rat, you've even heard about me. Well, it's not like I was trying to stay hidden."

Argo saying his name seemed to damper his spirits just a bit as his smile began to wane. Getting over his initial surprise, Kirito noticed that the man in front of him wasn't holding a weapon at the moment. He remembered Morte trying to hide his mace behind his back when he had first seen him. Was he trying to keep it a secret for some reason?

Kirito understood the advantages to keeping one's team a secret, but a player's weapon would be immediately apparent at the start of a fight. Maybe he had a very rare weapon? Kirito was reminded of his near-death experience with Coper when attempting to get the Anneal Blade and felt that was a likely possibility.

Before Kirito could think more on the subject, Morte's smile regained its vigor.

"Although speaking of which, hiding is no good. If there's one thing I do detest, its hiders and liars. Oh no! That was two things wasn't it? Ahh, I can be such a ditz sometimes. So what might you two be doing here?"

 _He must be the KGB member who knew the clue. He wasn't at the boss fight, so he could have been the one who completed the quest. Wait, something else is off. Why was he trailing so far behind his team members? And why wasn't he surprised to see us? It's almost like he knew we'd be here and was expecting us…_

Argo was worried by the pieces that were coming together, but she was missing too many of them to make sense of the full puzzle. She needed to try to get as much information out of him as she could. Before she could question him though, Kirito interjected.

"I don't know what you're getting at. Do we need any particular reason to be here?"

"Oh my, playing coy? I suppose this is all just a happy coincidence then. Maybe I should call out to my teammates up ahead so they can join in on the fun too. The more the merrier after all!"

Kirito frowned slightly at the thought of interacting with Joe and Kibaou right now. He was on pretty bad terms with both of them and he worried that things might go south if they were to meet face-to-face. Argo grimaced as well.

 _Shit, we're totally caught up in his pace right now. That was a pretty thinly-veiled threat that he'll turn us in for tailing the KGB unless we do what he wants. We can try to deny it, but it's obvious who Kibaou is going to believe. How is he going to try to leverage this?_

"Go right ahead," Kirito bluffed somewhat jokingly. "It's been a while since I've seen Kibaou, it'd be great to catch up."

"Didn't I tell you I hate liars?"

The sound of a gruff, familiar voice shouting from up ahead put an end to their conversation however.

"Morte, where are you? We're about ta have a strategy meeting so get up here quick."

For a second, the expression on Morte's face broke into a chilling scowl as he groaned, but his unnaturally cheerful smile quickly returned.

"Looks like that's all the time I have to play with you for now. Well, this was never meant to be the main event anyways. I'm sure I'll be seeing the two of you again very soon."

With that, the man began to walk towards the direction the voice had come from with a jaunty swagger. He whistled as he walked as though he didn't have a care in the world, but his overly theatric and carefree attitude was diametrically opposed to the dangerous vibe he gave off during their short conversation.

Once he was out of sight, it took them a few seconds to collect their thoughts. They had not been expecting that situation to happen in the first place, and were even more surprised that it hadn't escalated when Kibaou called out to Morte.

"I thought for sure he was going to force a confrontation there, but it looks like it was just a bluff. What do you make of it?"

"I have no clue. That guy gives me the creeps though, he's definitely bad news."

 _Hmm, it definitely seems like he's the KGB member who knew about this event. That means someone else has information that I might not have yet. There's a good chance that him or his source is a beta-tester too. I realized this after the FEAR incident, but I really need to keep on my toes against the other players too._

"Well, I guess we'll have plenty of things to discuss today. For now though, let's figure out our plan of action here. It's almost noon."

* * *

The sky was a calm blue, the breeze was pleasant, and the uncommon sound of children playing happily reverberated through the air. It was the 9th of April, the day of the Easter egg hunt, and the players were in much higher spirits than normal. Silica was currently sitting at a table outside of a café with other members of Fuurinkazan in Pallet Town. The area was much, much larger than the Pallet Town from the Pokémon games, or at least that's what Silica had been told by her guild members. Truth be told, she had doubts about everything her guild members had said to her ever since her disconcerting April Fools' experience. This claim did at least seem to make sense though. The massive area they were in had enough housing and shops for nearly the entire playerbase while somehow maintaining the feeling of a quaint village on the outskirts.

The kids dashed around the area searching for eggs as she watched. They seemed to all be part of one group that was being supervised by a young woman with brown hair wearing glasses. Some of the older kids were around Silica's age and she wouldn't have looked at all out of place joining the egg hunt. She did have a bit of an urge to join them, remembering the nostalgic times she spent at the playground as a kid, but decided to conserve her energy for the main event. It was a quarter to noon and she had to do her best today.

One of the other members of Fuurinkazan had a different idea though. Seemingly releasing some of his own excess energy by joining in on the fun, Klein dashed by a little girl with his much longer legs to snatch an egg hidden behind a signpost. Grinning back at his guildmates, he made a victory pose, apparently proud at having outrun a small child. The eggs were filled with a variety of different items and it would be foolish not to pick them up whenever one was found. In fact, it was easy to spot numerous other adults searching for eggs throughout the town. These adults had been stuck in the safe zones without being able to see their families for just as long as the children after all. Still, there was something that didn't seem right about the leader of one of the top 5 guilds in the game stealing eggs from children trapped in the safe zone.

The girl whose egg had just been stolen was very young and appeared to be about to cry. Seeing this, Klein's newly evolved Infernape that had been watching from the shadows jumped out and smacked him in the gut with a fiery punch. While his HP gauge didn't budge, Klein himself was knocked backwards and he felt an uncomfortable warmth in his stomach. Taking this as an opportunity, the Flame Pokémon grabbed the egg out of Klein's hand and presented it with a bow to the now wide-eyed sniffling girl.

"H-…hey! What do you think you're doing Dante? You knew I was about to give that egg back to her. You're just trying to show off for the little kids!"

The Fire-type chimpanzee Pokémon responded by sticking its tongue out at its owner while simultaneously making a farting sound, getting a laugh out of a few of the kids in the process. _Like trainer, like Pokémon,_ Silica thought to herself as she watched from afar. _I probably should let my Pokémon out to relax too though._

As Silica released her Pokémon from her Pokédex, she continued to watch Klein argue with his Pokémon to the delight of the children watching. "You rascal, you're totally making me out to be the villain. Don't act all innocent while badmouthing me in my head you bastard!" That last comment earned him a reproachful glare from the group's supervisor, making him gulp as he realized he was making a bad first impression on the attractive young woman. Despite her good looks, the woman's stern gaze reminded Silica of a librarian. Attempting to recover some of his lost points, Klein began to tone it down and started introducing the kids to his Pokémon team. While the kids all had Pokémon of their own, it was very rare for them to see evolved Pokémon while stuck in the nursery.

Elsewhere there were excited shouts as some of the other kids found more of the hidden eggs. Silica began to wonder if this was what Easter was like back in the real world. It wasn't something her family celebrated, but doing this with her family right now would have been nice. Doing anything with her family would be amazing right now if she thought about it. She wasn't sure when she would get to see them again, or if she would even get to at all in the first place… Noticing their owner's mood, her Pokémon began to gather around her to cheer her up. The Togepi adorably holding onto her leg and Dratini coiling up on her lap did succeed in boosting her spirits a bit.

Noticing what was happening with Silica, Klein urged some of the younger children to go and interact with Silica's Pokémon as well. Silica would normally have been wary about this, especially after what happened with FEAR, but being surrounded by the members of one of the top guilds in the game allowed her to worry less about being targeted for her Pokémon. Her Pokémon, aside from Delibird, were exceedingly rare and were a big hit amongst the kids. The kids asked all sorts of questions, but after a while another round of eggs spawned and distracted their attention away from Silica.

Silica sighed as she watched them run off. _It would be nice to play like I did when I was a kid, but I have more important things to do. I need to help out Kirito, he'll definitely be there today trying to do everything by himself._ Noticing that she'd made a determined pose with her fist clenched, Silica giggled to herself. _I've become so mature and reliable, when did that happen?_ The thought crossed her mind somewhat jokingly but filled her with a sense of pride and a touch of melancholy. Noticing that her guildmates were gathering in a circle, Silica joined up with them to hear what their leader had to say.

"Alright guys, it's almost noon so the announcement should be coming shortly. We got lucky to get a tip from Argo about the location of the first clue. Well, I say we got lucky since she approached me about it in the first place, but she still made me pay an arm and a leg for it…" Klein grumbled something that sounded suspiciously like 'that damn rat' under his breath.

"We don't know her source, but this is Argo we're talking about so we know the information is legit. The first clue should be coming in a few minutes so let's get prepared. The important stuff to remember is that there are prizes and experience just for finishing so we need to make sure to not get discouraged if we start struggling. This isn't a race, it's a marathon."

"Klein… do you know what a marathon is?"

"A marathon is a race you airhead!"

"Hrk, the point is t-"

"And this is totally a race, I'm in it to win it baby."

"Why bother buying information from Argo if we aren't even aiming for first?"

"Sheesh, I get it I get it. I never said we weren't aiming for first, just that we can't let it get to our heads if we mess up. We have to stay strong and… you guys are totally messing with me dammit."

One of the Fuurinkazan members, Dynamm, elbowed Klein in the stomach jokingly as the rest of the gang chuckled. Silica found herself smiling too. "We don't need a pep talk boss, we know the drill."

"Aw you guys can never let me look cool, you're such awful wingmen" Klein gave a regretful gaze towards where the brunette girl had been standing. It lasted only for a seconds before he couldn't contain his smile and turned back towards his guild laughing.

"Alright everyone, make sure to use Repels when we're moving between towns. We don't want to lose any time to random encounters. And there are no dumb suggestions so speak up if you have any ideas about any of the clues. Besides that, let's just do our best and remember our main priority."

 _Main priority? I haven't heard anything about that._ Silica had no time to ask about it however as the clock struck noon and a message from 'POW Notification System' popped up on her screen.

'From whence two colors did converge  
Here latent talent did emerge  
Our colors combined, a purple mark  
From this location did first embark

Prime for fighting, kinda nosey  
Ate a chestnut, I'm a Poké  
Mon who punches, aims kicks low  
Key to find me, topmost plateau'

* * *

Asuna was quickly beginning to regret agreeing to this trial run. While the head of the KOB had seemed happy to have her and Godfree reassured her that this test run was simply a formality, she couldn't get over her fear of failure. In the real world she had been a top student in her school where failing one test could drop her GPA for a whole semester. Heck, it could be the difference between making it into the high school or university you wanted to go to or not and could define your entire future. So the idea of failing made her feel slightly nauseous and she could already imagine her mother's reaction in her head.

The issue was that the conditions were unfavorable for Asuna. She had been studying up on the Pokémon types, moves, and abilities as best she could, but this was still her first Pokémon game. The first half of the riddle was screaming that it was related to the Pokémon lore and she had no way to solve it no matter how hard she though about it. _Even if this is a Pokémon game, you'd think the creator would make riddles that anyone can solve without prior knowledge. This just seems like bad game design, it's totally not fair. At this point, I probably shouldn't be relying on things being fair though; it could come back to bite me._

Nonetheless, Asuna still had no leads as to how to solve the riddle. It would be best to rely on her teammates at a time like this. That was probably what Heathcliff and Godfree wanted her to do anyways.

"So, now that everyone's had time to think about it, let's open the floor to discussion. We'll start with the first stanza. The two colors that combine to make purple are blue and red, so does anyone have suggestions on what that might mean in this context?" _Oh god, I was thinking about tests earlier which reminded me of my old Japanese teacher. What the hell? I'm literally copying something I've heard said in class before. I've never led anyone besides in those boss fights so I hope they don't think I'm an idiot._

Looking at the other 4 members, she was relieved to find that they were looking at her normally without laughing. Actually, they seemed to be almost looking at her with respect which made her feel a bit bashful. Hesitantly, after looking at the rest of the members, one of them began to speak which broke the remaining tension.

"Well, the first thing that comes to mind for me is Latios and Latias. One is blue and one is red and both of them are legendary Pokémon which matches the 'latent talent' part. Not to mention that in the later games Latios and Latias turn purple when they mega-evolve, so there's the purple mark."

 _Huh, mega-evolve? No seriously, what's that?_

"I was thinking about that too, but what would be the location where they first converged? They were roaming Pokémon in the games and the first part seems like it's talking about a place."

"Ah, oh yeah.. I hadn't gotten that far yet."

"I was thinking along the same lines of it being about legendary Pokémon. My mind went to Groudon and Kyogre first though, especially after all of the rain and drought along with Rayquaza being spotted."

"You're right! It's gotta be at the place they fight then! After hearing that, I really can't believe it's talking about anywhere other than Sootopolis City."

"Hold on a second, you guys are looking at this the wrong way. The first two Pokémon games were Red and Blue, and in those games the main characters are Red and Blue who both beat the Elite 4 and become champions. So they have the latent talent and the colors covered. We should be heading to Pallet Town."

"Pallet Town would be the perfect place to have the first clue I guess, but what about the purple mark? I feel like Latios and Latias match that part the most closely."

"Isn't the purple part just to hint at the colors being red and blue? I don't think the mark is important. Besides, Groudon and Kyogre don't have any sort of purple mark either."

"I want to throw Ho-oh and Lugia into the ring too. They also match the color scheme and both have some sort of connection to Tin Tower…"

 _Uwaaaah! These guys are way too smart and well-informed. Is there even any point to me being here? I feel like I'm the most useless group member by far. Although at this rate we'll never decide on a place, and we haven't even started on the second half of the riddle. They're just rambling on at this point. Alright, I guess my 'legendary' leadership skills are needed now more than ever._

"Let me interrupt for a second, it seems like we have 4 different ideas going around so why don't we work down from there by process of elimination. Pallet Town and Sootopolis City are both places accessible to us on the map, but from what you're saying Latios and Latias don't have a set location, so let's eliminate that option for now. Also, I've checked the map, and from what I can see getting to Tin Tower requires another raid boss to be beaten which is unrealistic for a 1-day contest like this. Let's eliminate that option too. Let's work on the second half of the riddle now to solve the whole thing and maybe get a clue on which location is better…"

* * *

While most of the top players were involved with the Easter contest, the secret organization Laughing Koffing was poised to make its move. Making its move might have been a bit of an exaggeration or an understatement depending on how one looked at it however. As their fearsome leader had described, today was about putting out their feelers in numerous directions. While 1 or 2 concrete plans were in motion, most of their ideas were in the planning stages and were dependent on outside factors.

Currently, Johnny Black was meeting with the boss to report on what he had been instructed to monitor. Taking a step forward at PoH's beckoning, the man with a distinctive sack-like black mask over his head began to speak.

"We've confirmed the locations of the top 5 guilds and their participation in the contest. Most of them are being led by their top players, with 2 notable exceptions. Lind has been rumored to be training in Dragon's Den with multiple other DDA members and shouldn't be a problem. We haven't been able to find Heathcliff of the KOB along with the Rat though."

"Hmm, can't do much about that. Don't worry about the Rat, Morte already has eyes on her along with that black swordsman you seem to hate so much."

At this, Johnny Black's eyes gleamed and he stepped forward as if to speak. Remembering the lesson taught to one of his comrades who had spoken when it wasn't his turn however, he wisely decided to close his mouth.

PoH chuckled at this, "Yes don't worry, we'll take our time killing him when the time comes. Morte has assured me he only wants to play with him today. He is certainly worth keeping an eye on though after interfering with our plans twice and defeating that low-level orange guild, as pathetic as it may have been."

"Understood… my lord."

Black did not enjoy speaking in such an odd manner like some players did in this game. Nor did he like being polite in the slightest. In fact, he rather detested being forced to curb his aggression. If he had his way, then he would dispose of PoH at the first opportunity and then go on a killing spree of other players to his heart's desire.

The reason he didn't was very simple. PoH was strong, so strong that he doubted himself and Xaxa would have a chance against him in a 2v1 fight. Watching how the man disposed of enemy Pokémon using only a dagger without the use of sword skills told him this man had underworld connections IRL. He also kept the Pokémon on his team a secret from them and trained on his own.

PoH also had a sort of violent charisma that created fanatic followers. If Black were to so much as mention rebellion to anyone other than XaXa, he expected they would attack him with intent to kill immediately.

As a result, he would have to suppress his violent desires for the time being. He did have high hopes that waiting for PoH's plans to come to fruition would prove bountiful though. After seeing PoH's expression when committing acts of violence, he had no doubts that the man was holding himself back too. For now, he would restrain himself to playing with the NPCs. The payout would come sooner or later, and then he would be able to let go and enjoy himself to the fullest.

The leader had been giving instructions to another man, but as he turned back to face him, Black snapped back to the present.

"Have you and Xaxa completed the changes to your teams?"

"Yes.. my team already had two Poison types so I've already adequately leveled up a third. Xaxa had to catch two new Pokémon so he's a bit behind, but he should meet the qualifications as well."

"Good, Ghost is a rare type so there should be no problems with that. He can level up during his current quest as well. How is he progressing with the 'Voice of the Forest'?"

"He's been using the Team Rocket members to help him corner the first target but it's proved elusive thus far. Its location is very difficult to pinpoint and its speed was higher than anticipated when he did encounter it. He seems to think it's only a matter of time until he succeeds though… He also said he had already informed you of this…"

PoH slapped his knee and began to laugh. It was a rather cold laugh devoid of humor rather than one that gave off any warmth however. Black shivered imperceptibly as PoH's eyes looked him dead on with a cold glint in them.

"That's right. Sometimes people forget little details in their reports, so I just like to double check to make sure they didn't miss anything. Pay no mind to it."

That was another reason Black wouldn't be betraying PoH even if he hated the no-killing rule that was currently in place. The man would likely realize his intentions before he himself did. It was as though PoH constantly expected sabotage and may even have welcomed it. That lifestyle of never trusting anyone had to be exhausting and the result of experiencing countless deceptions.

Black didn't hate that though. That was what it meant to live in a true death game. Eventually, the rest of the players wouldn't know who to trust either and would end up as broken as he was. That was when the real fun would begin.

"Well, we'll see how it turns out. Capturing legendary Pokémon may be a bit optimistic but it could prove very useful for later on. If they turn out to be raid-boss level monsters like Groudon and Kyogre then we'll just pull back and make use of them in a different method. That's right, were you able to make contact with the other villainous teams?"

"We made contact with Team Galactic but weren't able to locate Team Plasma."

"Is that so? I'll take over negotiations with Team Galactic personally then. With how things are progressing with Team Rocket, it's only a matter of time until the clearers catch on."

PoH rose from where he was sitting as though to leave. He only had so much time to advance his plans today while the clearers were all occupied. Seeing that Johnny Black had not moved however, he remembered that there was one more piece of information for his follower to report on.

"Ah yes, how are things proceeding with the S.S. Tickets?"

"For the most part, it's all going as planned. We've confirmed that a player can have only one ticket at a time, but another ticket can be received as long as the ticket is no longer in the inventory. We won't know if the max number of tickets is the same as in the beta until we've distributed them all though. We've already started distributing them discretely to low-level players."

"Good, have there been any complications?"

"Well.. sort of. Apparently two high-level players acquired tickets and are already on the island."

"They're already on the island? Interesting, at least one of them must be a beta tester, but from what Morte has told us no beta tester would risk going to the island right now. Maybe they don't know the risks, or maybe they're just crazy. Ahaha, I'm not one to talk. Tell me, did they seem to be in a guild?"

"No, they didn't appear to be."

"I see, send a few of our members to hamper their efforts in any way other than killing them directly. It would be good to have a few of our own on the island anyways to confirm the conditions and to buy us time. I'll leave that to you."

"Understood, it might be a bit difficult convincing our men to go however. Should we recruit new members for that purpose?"

"You lot seem to be misunderstanding the purpose of that island. It's not a death trap; it's bait. Just tell them they have my personal guarantee that they won't be left there to die."

Black did not think that PoH's word was worth much. However, he did not much care whether the other members of Laughing Koffing lived or died. If that promise was enough to convince someone then far be it from him to dissuade them.

"I see, then, I'll be heading out."

Not waiting for a reply that would never come, Black began to head towards the outside. While his counterpart Xaxa had some interest in the projects they were undertaking, he was only concerned with the end result. PoH seemed to understand this and did not force Black to trouble himself with too many of these tasks unless they were necessary.

Perhaps PoH intended to swing Xaxa to his side. That was one thing that would never happen though. He and Xaxa had known each other in the real world for some time and their bonds wouldn't be broken so easily by that borderline delusional psychopath.

In a bit of a bad mood, Black decided to find the most realistic NPC he could to sate his desires.

* * *

{Fluffy, dodge to the side and hit it with a Crunch attack!}

While Kirito had instructed his Pokémon to dodge, he foolishly hadn't dictated a direction. With both heads vying for control of its body, each of the Zweilous's heads naturally sought to move in the direction they were closer to.

The result was that the two-headed Dragon Pokémon immobilized itself and was slammed into by a powerful Takedown attack courtesy of the Stoutland they were fighting. The Stoutland had a mark on it indicating it was a target of the Easter Event. It had buffed stats to make defeating and catching it more difficult. As a result, the Normal-type attack inflicted more damage to his Zweilous than it usually would.

Ignoring the damage for now in favor of inflicting damage of his own onto the Pokémon during its recovery stage, Kirito charged forward with a 2-hit sword skill. On the opposite side, Argo was raking her own claws down the opponent's mid-section while her Girafarig unleashed a Psybeam attack.

With the opponent's HP now in the yellow, only a bit more damage was needed before Kirito could capture the large dog-like Pokémon. Giving his Zweilous the chance to redeem itself, Kirito instructed it to attack.

{Zweilous, finish it off with a Double Hit.}

{I've got it, I'll prove that I'm the better head.}

{No it's closer to me so I'll attack first.}

{You idiot, I have a better angle from this position so I should go first. This is why you'll always be number 2.}

Despite his Pokémon's arguments with itself, it managed to hit the Stoutland with two consecutives swipes and knock its health into the red. Not one to miss an opportunity, Kirito opened his Pokélink and materialized a Pokéball which he then threw at his target. Its health having already fallen into the red, the Pokémon was caught, and a zig-zagging red and white light transported it into the device on his wrist.

 _Zweilous is even more troublesome to train than Deino was. Thankfully, it should be getting somewhat close to evolving again. According to the lore, its heads shouldn't compete with each other once it becomes a Hydreigon. More importantly though, now that we've caught Stoutland, the last riddle should be coming soon._

Kirito and Argo had been repeating a cycle of solving riddles, moving to the designated place, and capturing a specific Pokémon all day. According to additional information released by the POW Notification System however, this 6th riddle should be the final one they had to solve before receiving the prize. For them, this was more realistically their 5th as they had known the answer to the first riddle in advance.

Realizing that the moment of truth was getting closer, Kirito's body unconsciously tensed in anticipation. He had to place first in this event no matter what, even if the chances of the resurrection item existing were astronomically low.

Logically, Sachi should have died moments after her in game death and there was no way she could be revived from that now. However, Kirito did not have any contact with the outside world. There existed a slim possibility that Sachi's consciousness could be held somewhere else right now or that she was in a coma-like state. Thinking that death wasn't the end was dangerous in a death game like this, but the glimmer of hope burning within him that Sachi could still be saved wasn't extinguished so easily.

"Oi Kii-bou, is your team gonna be alright? I'm kind of worried that POW's top player can't even control his own Pokémon."

"It'll be fine. I have my other 3 Pokémon for if we face a tough opponent, and Fluffy will be a real asset once he evolves. I haven't been training him for that long either."

Pokémon in this game took a decent amount of time to develop synergy with. While they would all obey direct commands using the Pokélink interface, forming a mental bond with them was very important for succeeding during battle. The amount of time it took to fully bond with a Pokémon was affected by an array of factors including the Pokémon's type, nature, and level.

For this reason, Kirito and Argo were currently only using the Pokémon they'd most recently added to their teams. Their opponents today weren't at a very high level so using their whole team was overkill. Argo seemed to be getting along pretty well with her Girafarig, but there were still times where its inexperience following her commands was apparent.

"Besides, you're one to talk. Back Talk doesn't seem like he enjoys taking your orders either. Well, half of him at least."

"Ehh? He may talk back to me but at least he doesn't trip up over himself and get hit with attacks!"

"Well that's true, but at least it's temporary in my case. Once he evolves, Fluffy won't be doing that either."

"Are you sure about that?" Argo questioned with a smug grin. "For all we know all 3 of Hydreigon's heads might hate each other too."

Kirito broke out into a cold sweat imagining this possibility. At that point, he might have to drop the newest Pokémon from his team for the sake of his mental health. He would just ignore that possibility for now and hope that the data on Hydreigon's Pokédex entry held true in this game. Hastily trying to change the subject, Kirito complimented Argo's latest addition to her team.

"Anyways, I'm glad to see you getting some type coverage for your team. Girafarig seems like a pretty smart choice since a Fighting-type team like Agil's would smoke you without it. Are you planning on sticking to all Normal-types though?"

"Well, I do have better affinity with Normal-types so that's not the worst idea."

"What're you talking about? Didn't it take you ages to bond with your starter?"

"Ouch, going right for the jugular I see. Weren't you taught not to be mean to pretty girls?"

"That's true master!" A familiar voice had spoken from right beside him. "That was very rude of you, apologize."

"Kiriko? How the hell did you get out of the Pokélink?"

"Ufufufu, I have my ways," she said in her human form with a devilish grin.

Kirito sighed in exasperation at his Zoroark's antics. He really wasn't sure how she'd escaped the Pokélink. If he wasn't in a death game, he'd have reported it as a bug to the developers.

Turning his attention back to Argo, he questioned, "But still, is it alright to only be using normal types? They aren't particularly strong."

"Ufufufu, little did you know I've already branched out and am training a trump card right now secretly."

 _I think Kiriko and Argo have rubbed off on each other a bit too much. They shouldn't be allowed to interact with other players._

Though Kirito thought this, he knew that they acted much differently when in the presence of others. It made him feel a bit happy that he got to see this side of them that others didn't. This also made him wonder why he'd been avoiding meeting Argo so much in the first place.

"Really? I guess that's good enough for me then."

"Aw, was Master worried about Argo?"

"Shut up.."

"Oh Kii-bou, you should be looking out for yourself first though. You know, I've been worried about you a lot lately."

"Err, sorry for worrying you."

"It's fine, you look a lot better than you did back then at least. I know more about your situation now so I understand. Just no more avoiding me, that hurts you know… we're friends, aren't we?"

"Yeah…"

Kirito didn't know how to respond to that. He and Argo had talked about a variety of things today including the situation with the Moonlit Black Cats. It was nice having someone else to talk about it with even if it hurt him inside whenever he thought about it. It felt good interacting with Argo like they used to as well.

While thinking about how to respond, Kirito opened his Pokélink and withdrew some meat which he tossed towards his Zweilous. The two heads immediately snapped to attention and began competing for the food.

{Master tossed the food towards me which means he likes me more.}

{Fool, what matters is who eats the most food, not who it was thrown to. The strong will rule the weak!}

{Master! No food for me?!}

{You haven't done anything yet Kiriko. Aw don't give me those puppy dog eyes, that's unfair.}

As Kirito gave in and his three Pokémon chowed down, a notification came up in his and Argo's menus. Resolving to make things up to Argo later, Kirito resumed his more serious persona. He had to do his best to win the prize right now, so there was no time to waste.

The next hint would come 5 minutes after catching the latest event Pokémon on the nose. Kirito wasn't sure of the reasoning for this, but he assumed it was to give players a potion break before they began making their way to the next location.

Looking at his menu, Kirito read the final riddle.

'A prime connection of one and five  
Yet one and three in me alive  
A rocky path until the surge  
Holy for those who do emerge

Replacing those who do abide  
Long ears, short tail, a fluffy hide  
One tough, one merry, one exposed  
The two in charge are quite opposed'

After they'd had time to read and digest it, Argo was the first to speak.

"Well let's leave the second half alone until we get there, we just need to solve the first half for now."

"Agreed, the riddles should have been different for everyone besides the first and last riddles, so we have no idea how far along the others are right now. Let's try to figure this out fast."

"So… any ideas?"

"I've got sort of a hunch, the 'one and three in me alive' sounds a bit like Diglett and Dugtrio, doesn't it?"

"Ooh that does make sense. Actually, if it's Diglett's Cave then that fits perfectly. I'm pretty sure it goes between Pewter City and Vermillion City where Lt. Surge is the gym leader."

"Perfect! That definitely fits the third line. I'm not sure if it's exactly 'holy' though, maybe that's just a play on Diglett making a lot of holes? There aren't that many religious places in Pokémon so I can't think of anywhere that matches the line better at least."

"Yeah, so what about the first line?"

"I've got no clue, but at this point does it matter? I feel like it's definitely Diglett's Cave."

"It probably is, but hold on, I feel like I'm almost onto something here… Prime connection, numbers, prime numbers? Hey, what are the first and fifth prime numbers?"

 _Prime numbers huh, it's been a while since I've taken a math class… or any class really. Well let's see, the first prime number is supposed to be two I think. Then comes three, then five, then seven…_

"You're a genius Argo! It's 2 and 11. Those are the two routes that Diglett Cave connects between. A prime connection… I'm surprised you got that."

"Heh, you can marvel at my skills later. Let's get going."

With that, the conversation stopped as Argo and Kirito opened their menus to refresh their application of the Super Repel item used to keep away wild Pokémon. Once all of their preparations were complete, they began to run towards Diglett Cave.

* * *

"It should be around here."

Kirito and Argo stopped running and began to look around. They were in the woods right by the entrance to Diglett Cave. What had alerted them to stop was the strange altar and drawings on the wall next to the opening.

The drawings were of rabbits in various poses seemingly dancing around a tombstone in a tribalistic manner. The rabbits were equidistant apart and beneath each of them was a line running down from the wall to the altar. The lines continued onto the horizontal surface from the vertical wall and each of them ended at what appeared to be a drawing of an egg with a green question mark in the middle of it.

"I guess so, seems like we're the first ones here. These drawings… we're definitely in the right place."

Argo was heavily reminded of the drawing she'd seen on the signboard when she'd first learned about the quest. This was on a much larger scale however, and much more extravagant. The biggest difference was a hand-shaped mark in the center of the altar with a Golden Easter Basket Icon above it. It didn't take a genius to realize that the party leader should place their hand here.

"Well, no time to waste."

Kirito stepped forward, and without hesitating, immediately placed his hand onto the indicated area. This caused the area where his hand was to glow a brilliant shade of white and a text window to pop up above his head.

'Do you wish to sacrifice the Pokémon you have caught for your reward?'

After reading the text, he didn't have to deliberate for long before clicking the 'Yes' button. This caused red and white light to shoot out of his Pokélink in the shape of lightning to the 5 different eggs. When the light reached the eggs, the question mark in the middle of each of them changed into an exclamation mark.

'Congratulations,' a second message popped up as numerous items were transferred into the inventories of Kirito and Argo. 'You have placed first in the contest and have been rewarded with items and experience for your efforts.'

Argo looked at some of the items she had received in her inventory and was very happy to see that she had received Lucky Eggs, Nuggets, and Max Elixirs amongst other items. This was quite a haul as all of these were very useful or could be sold for a fair amount of Pokéyen. As a reward, this was more than enough. However, Kirito did not bother to glance at the items he'd received as he finished reading the message.

'You may feel free to leave with the items you've acquired. Though if you have a predilection towards resurrection, you'll have to keep playing on. Interested? Solve the riddle and face the final challenge.'

In smaller text beneath this was a more-detailed message describing the contents of this contest.

'Name the Pokémon alluded to in the final riddle in order to face the final challenge. If the guessing party is incorrect, they may wait 10 minutes and try again. Other teams will be allowed to attempt the riddle during this time. Solving this riddle will allow the player's party to challenge the final boss of this event.

It is recommended that a party have at least 3 to 5 members to challenge this event, but anyone who qualifies may participate. If the team who challenges the event fails, the riddle will reset and the next arriving parties will have the opportunity to solve a different riddle to face the boss.

The final boss fight will end when the enemy Pokémon have been defeated or the challenging party runs out of health. Failure will result in death. Do you still wish to continue?'

For the first time that day, doubt clouded Kirito's mind. Memories of his arm being chopped off, Kiriko surviving Rayquaza's attack with a single health point, and Sachi and the Moonlit Black Cats being killed in front of him rushed to the surface. How many times had he underestimated the NPCs in this game and paid for it? Would fighting here be just another costly mistake?

Argo noticed Kirito's mental state and sighed inwardly. She couldn't blame him though after all he had gone through. She had talked to him today about a number of important topics and understood what he was thinking about right now.

He had watched the first girl he loved and the guild he had grown close to die due to his own perceived mistakes. He had trained his ass off and taken fights that surely should have killed him to try to rectify the situation, but there was no fixing what was already done. Argo very much doubted that this resurrection item would be the salvation he needed, but hopefully it would bring him closer to the closure he sought.

Walking forward, Argo took a deep breath to prepare herself before hugging Kirito from behind. Kirito, being lost in his thoughts, was taken aback by the sudden sensation on his back. The warmth from their close proximity felt good, but he didn't know what he had done to deserve it.

"It'll be okay Kii-bou, we know exactly what we're getting into this time, so no regrets. Let's finish this the right way."

"Thanks Argo," Kirito smiled as the older girl let go of his back. He was lucky to have such a dependable friend. "That was exactly what I needed. Let's do this."

Clicking the 'Yes' button on the menu, Kirito tried to remember the exact wording of the earlier riddle. He didn't have to try for long though as the riddle he'd received earlier popped up on the screen in front of him to make things easier.

'Replacing those who do abide  
Long ears, short tail, a fluffy hide  
One tough, one merry, one exposed  
The two in charge are quite opposed'

"Well, let's go through this then. For starters, the first line should be referring to the Diglett and Dugtrio that live in this cave."

"Yeah, but that doesn't seem too important since they're 'replaced', so we can just ignore that line. The second line seems pretty clearly like a description of a bunny though."

"Seems like it. Especially considering all of the bunny-themed drawings on the wall, it's hard to imagine it being anything else. So based on the number of bunnies and riddles, the last two lines should be referring to 5 bunny-like Pokémon I think."

"No objections here, so we just have to figure out what the Pokémon are and in what order they go. I can't think of 5 bunny-like Pokémon though. Off the top of my head there are Buneary and Lopunny which are pretty obvious."

"Hmm," Kirito thought for a moment. "These last two lines seem to describe them and most of the Pokémon riddles have been pretty obvious. Could 'one tough' refer to Wigglytuff?"

"You know, it is pretty fluffy and it has big ears. If that's the case, then would the 'merry' Pokémon be Azumarill? It has big ears too and it's kinda cuddly."

"Kinda cuddly? Azumarill has the ability Huge Power so it hits like a truck. I can't deny the logic of that though. That would just leave 3 left."

"Could Lopunny and Buneary be the last 2 Pokémon 'in charge' then? They're the Pokémon that most resemble rabbits so that could be the case."

"Hmm, but how are they 'quite opposed'?"

Argo fell into thought at this question. Buneary evolved into Lopunny so they were different in a sense, but it wasn't as though a Pokémon's evolution was its opposite. Rather, they were very similar to one another, and they weren't opposed to each other in the sense that they didn't get along either. As Argo thought about the appearance of Lopunny, she came to a conclusion.

"No, they aren't opposed. It would be weird for one of the Pokémon in charge to be an unevolved Pokémon too considering all of the other candidates are evolved forms. Lopunny should meet the criteria for 'one exposed'. It has fur covering its wrists and legs but the rest of its body is 'exposed'. It also kinda looks like a seductive rabbit if you think about it."

"Wow Argo, I didn't realize you swung that way." Ignoring the daggers Argo was glaring at him, Kirito quickly moved on. "You're right though. I can't think of any other Pokémon that would fit better with that line. That just leaves the two in charge for last. Are there any other Pokémon with big ears?"

"Wartortle… but that's obviously a turtle. Nidoking and Nidoqueen might make sense, they're both royalty so they could be 'in charge' and they're opposite genders. They don't really oppose each other, but that still fits pretty well if you think about it! Raichu has big ears and it's an Electric-type so the 'charge' might come into play there…"

Kirito looked around the area in hopes of finding some sort of clue. Solving this riddle might put him one step closer to bringing back Sachi after all. As his mind drifted back to Sachi, he remembered the story she had told him about her first Pokémon.

Inspiration struck as he recalled her words.

"Hold on, those are all on the right track but I think I figured it out."

"Really? I knew Wartortle factored into this somehow."

"No.. I meant the other guesses were on the right track… whatever. Nidoking and Nidoqueen are a couple and Raichu has big ears and is an Electric-type, if you combine those two guesses then what do you get?"

"You're really giving me extra riddles right now? Out with it Kii-bou."

"Plusle and Minun! They both have a 'charge' on them, they have big ears, and they're opposites of each other. Wait, it's even the charges on them that are opposed!"

"Hmm, they do kinda look like cute little bunnies, although that wouldn't be my first guess on what animal they resemble. That's gotta be it though, let's go with that. If we're wrong, then the faster you put in this guess the faster we can try again. Go go go!"

Being pushed forwards towards the altar unceremoniously by Argo, Kirito selected the option to guess the answer to the riddle. To his surprise, a keyboard manifested on the horizontal surface in front of him, allowing Kirito to type in the 5 answers to the riddle on each line.

 _Okay, Wigglytuff first, then Azumarill, then Lopunny. The last two are Plusle and Minun… but I'm not sure in what order. There wasn't a hint about which one came first. That or I wasn't clever enough to get it. Plusle and Minun sounds more natural to me so I'll do it in that order. If it's the other way around I might have to wait 10 minutes to try again, but that can't be avoided._

Having inputted his answers, Kirito was relieved when a notification that his guesses had been correct popped up in the menu.

'You have completed this riddle successfully. The final battle awaits you in the cave. Ye who has lost before and seeks to overcome death, move forward towards your destiny.'

As the double doors blocking the entrance to Diglett's Cave moved aside to let them through, Kirito thought to himself that this scene may have been a bit overdramatic for an Easter Special Event. However, the constant hinting towards an item that could overcome death was reinvigorating the hope inside of him. It was likely too good to be true, but he couldn't help but become a bit excited by a possible reunion with Sachi. He would have to thank Argo again for all of her help when this was over.

For now though, he needed to fully concentrate on the battle ahead. Materializing his Pokémon from the Pokélink on his wrist, Kirito advanced forwards through the tunnel's entrance with Argo close behind him.

The ground inside the tunnel was easy to walk on and there was more natural illumination than one would expect. Kirito did not see any of the natural inhabitants of the cave though; there were no Diglett to be seen. While this did have a bit of an ominous feel to it, the conditions were nearly perfect for a battle aside from the lack of space.

As Kirito thought this, they stepped out into a large, circular area in the cave that reminded him of a wrestling ring. It was many times larger than a wrestling ring however, and he was sure there had not been an open area of this size in Diglett's Cave when he had visited in the past.

Standing nonchalantly in the center of the ring were 5 larger-than-normal Pokémon. Wigglytuff, Azumarill, Lopunny, Plusle, and Minun. They each appeared to have only one health bar, but Kirito was sure that they had much higher stats than an average Pokémon. This was akin to a mini-boss fight after all.

Stopping before entering the ring, Kirito took this time to give instructions to his companions in this fight.

"Alright, based on numbers, there are 5 enemy Pokémon and 9 people and Pokémon on our side. It seems pretty clear that we should assign two Pokémon to each enemy. Lopunny and Wigglytuff are Normal-types, Plusle and Minun are Electric, with Azumarill being the only Water-type. Based on that I've decided who should face each opponent."

"We shouldn't get too fixated on sticking to the opponent we're assigned to though Kii-bou. We have no idea if those Pokémon are programmed to target specific Pokémon or humans instead of the ones attacking them. Also, my team is more suited to hit and run strategies."

"That's a good point, everyone be on the lookout and stay aware of your surroundings. With that said, here are the matchups. Azumarill is a hard-hitter so my Zoroark and Zweilous who resists Water will take it on."

{Understood Master, I will take the form of a Zweilous as well then.}

{Good idea, as long as your heads don't also start fighting with each other too. If you start acting crazy also, I might just lose it!}

Kirito spoke telepathically to his Zoroark while his Zweilous argued with itself in his head. He did his best to tune it out however as he continued talking.

"Charizard and Gothitelle will be taking on the Wigglytuff."

{Let Gothitelle help the others, I can surely take on one Wigglytuff on my own Boss.}

{If it was a normal Wigglytuff that'd be fine, but this is a boss fight. Let Estelle help you Chardcore.}

{I will do as Guru Kirito has foretold me to.}

 _I don't think that's how the word foretold is used… well, moving on._ "As for Lopunny, I'll be leaving it and Plusle to your team Argo."

"Really? I thought for sure you would try to take on the Lopunny yourself."

"Lopunny is fast so it'd be best to have you and your Raticate take it on. Besides, you wouldn't have let me do that anyways."

"That's probably the best way to do it, good work Kii-bou. I'll leave the Plusle to Back Talk and P Diddy Kong."

"I still can't get over the fact you renamed your Ambipom that Argo. Anyways, as soon as we step into the ring we can expect the battle to start. Everyone, start things off with your strongest attacks then lead your opponent away from the rest of them. The worst thing we can do is fight all our opponents close to one another and trip each other up… Alright, on the count of three. 1, 2, 3!"

Accompanied by psychic bursts, fiery blasts, and dark spheres of energy, Kirito and Argo charged into the ring to fight their final opponent in the Resurrection Predilection Event.

* * *

"How much further to Diglett Cave?"

"Not much, we should be coming up on it in the next few minutes or so."

Silica, Klein, and the rest of Fuurinkazan were on their way to finish the Easter Event. They had figured out all of the riddles in what Silica thought was pretty impressive time. It seemed that Dynamm and Harry One had replayed the original Pokémon games in preparation for POW and were thus very good at guessing the answers to the riddles.

 _I can't imagine that many teams could keep pace with us, especially since we had a lead from starting at Pallet Town in the beginning. Well, I still can't see us beating Kirito and Argo there._

"Hey Klein, do you know who all is competing today?"

At this, the other members seemed to perk up. Apparently this was a topic that many of them were interested in.

"Heh, I know who most of the competitors are. Managed to weasel some information out of a few of my contacts. I know all of the guilds competing and 4 of the solo players."

"It's not like figuring out which guilds made it in is hard though. There are only 4 top guilds who compete in the boss battles and we're the 5th."

"That's true, but Silica may not have heard of all of them before."

"No, I've heard of all of them. There's the DDA, the KGB, the KOB, and the Legend Braves, right?"

"Hear that Klein? Even Silica knew all the guilds competing."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"

As Dynamm apologized to Silica for joking about her lack of knowledge, Klein took this chance to forge ahead in the conversation.

"Well how about this, did you know that one of the top 5 solo players gave up her spot to work with a guild?"

This got everyone's attention.

"Wait really?"

"No way! Who was it and what guild?"

"It's… Asuna! Asuna is apparently on the fast track to join the KOB. There are rumors she's even being promoted straight to the second in command."

"Wow, that's pretty fast. I can't be too surprised though. The stories about her in the boss battles say that she's a great leader and was being recruited by Heathcliff personally. With her being a top ranked solo player too, what's not to love?"

 _Wow, a girl not much older than me is second in command of one of the most powerful guilds in the game. I've heard that she's a real beauty who dances around enemies with her rapier. Maybe if I work hard, I can reach her level someday._

Silica had begun tuning out the conversation unconsciously, but something she heard caught her attention immediately.

"I'm surprised to hear that personally, I thought she'd party up with the Black Swordsman again if anything."

"What did you just say?" Silica questioned immediately.

"You haven't heard about it? Asuna, Kirito, and the Rat partied up for the first 2 boss battles. Rumor has it that they were pretty close if you know what I mean."

"Hey quit teasing her again Dynamm, it's not nice to joke like that about a girl's first crush."

Silica's face turned a deep shade of red as she instantly denied it.

"He's not my crush! I just want to repay him for helping me out before. I'm sure he doesn't see me that way anyways."

Inwardly however, Silica was worried by what she had just heard. Even if she wasn't exactly aiming for Kirito's heart, she didn't think she could win against someone like Asuna in any way. Sensing that Silica had become slightly depressed, Klein gained control of the conversation once more.

"Jeez, you guys just take the conversation wherever the hell you want to. We were talking about the solo players participating in the event. The slot left open by Asuna can't be claimed so there are only 4 solo spots left. Now Kirito is one of them of course. But I bet you guys can't guess the others."

"Well, I know Argo is one of them at least."

"That's where you're wrong!" Klein spoke louder than he'd expected to as he was happy to prove his buddy wrong. "Argo actually didn't make the cutoff. She's partnering with Kirito for this event."

"Is that so? I knew they were partnering up but I figured Argo just gave up her spot. Who are the others then?"

"One of them is a player named Green. Apparently runs a Grass-type team. He skips out on all of the boss battles so not everyone has heard of him, but apparently he's beaten damn near all of the gym battles possible at this point."

"You're exaggerating, nobody has time to beat all of those. It'd be especially hard with a monotype team. Hell, you'd probably stand a good chance against him boss. You're another one of those monotype idiots, but your team pretty much completely counters his."

"Hey, don't call me an idiot. I'm partied up with you guys so my team isn't really a weakness. Besides, I've branched out a bit and have some tricks up my sleeves. With that said, beating Green would be an uphill battle for me. Type advantages mean less in this game and his Pokémon have to all be at least 5 levels higher than mine."

"Eh, I was just joking about you beating him boss. You can't compare to the top clearers. So who are the last two?"

"Well, one of them is a girl called Rain. Apparently she showed up at the last boss battle and impressed the people around her. She's about Asuna's age and runs a Water and Ice-type team. The last one is unknown though, I offered to pay Argo for the information since I was curious but she said she didn't know either."

"What do you think you're doing with Fuurinkazan's funds? Just because you're the leader doesn't mean you can spend our Pokéyen all willy-nilly!"

"Yeah yeah, alright it looks like we're here so let's save the chit-chat for later."

As they entered the area that Kirito and Argo had been in not long before, Silica's eyes were immediately drawn to the drawings of the rabbits on the wall and to the altar. There appeared to be a place there to put someone's hand with a Golden Easter Basket Icon above it. Klein, understanding the situation, began to walk towards the altar when a voice stopped him.

"Well fancy that, it looks as though we've arrived at the same time as another guild."

"Huh, I'm not too familiar with 'em. They must be the 5th place guild that doesn't participate in the boss fights. Doesn't seem like'a solo player. Hey you, what's your name?"

Hearing this, Klein turned to face the direction the voices had come from. He found himself looking at 5 members of the largest guild in the game, the KGB. Standing in the front of the group was their spiky-haired leader. He didn't recognize the rest of the members yet, but it would be good to figure out their names if he had the chance. Fuurinkazan was planning on participating in the raid boss battles soon so this was a good opportunity.

"You must be Kibaou right? It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Klein, the leader of Fuurinkazan, I've heard a lot about you."

"Good you've heard of me, that'll speed things up."

"Speed what up? I was just about to-"

As Klein began to turn his head and motion towards the altar, he was forced to jump back as a barrage of seeds hit the ground directly in front of him.

"If he tries to move that way again, give him another Seed Bomb as a warning shot," Kibaou said to the Cacturne standing next to him.

"What's the big idea?"

Klein had no idea what he'd done to deserve this. Even if the KGB was known to be a bit aggressive, he'd never expected them to be outright hostile towards him on their first meeting. Were they desperately trying to win the prize because one of their top players had died? It was a bit of a stretch, but if this was the case, then Klein might understand where they were coming from. They could have warned him without firing an attack near him though…

"Well as I was saying, it's good you know who we are since that'll speed things up. The KGB is constantly fighting on the front lines for the sake of freeing everyone from this game. We've been sharing resources between everyone and we're trying to bring lower-leveled players up to the front lines too. So as the biggest guild who actually participates in boss fights, we deserve to get the prize. As a lesser guild, it's yer obligation to let us reach the altar first, 'sidering we both made it here at the same time."

"That's a load of crap. We got here first and you know it. I'm not just gonna let you take our spot. Besides, we're planning on joining the boss battles too. With the prizes we win here, we might also be able to reach the front lines quicker."

Despite saying that, Klein did not move from his position in order to avoid being fired at with another Seed Bomb attack. He wouldn't be able to complete the process once he'd started anyways if he was to actually get attacked. This was a bad situation for him as his guild was undoubtedly weaker than the KGB, and their first priority was protecting Silica as well.

"Hey leader, it must be difficult for him to accept giving up his position to us when we arrived here at the same time. Might I suggest a duel to decide who gets to go first? It's only fair."

The man with chain mail and a cloak who had been the first to greet them was the one to make this suggestion. Klein didn't know who this was and was a bit unnerved by his suggestion for good reason.

"Yeah, no thanks. I'm not about to fight a duel to the death over some items, asshole."

The man grinned widely at this, seemingly finding it funny. Klein found this rather off-putting, especially as he could not see the man's eyes. However, he spoke in a fairly respectable manner, so Klein listened to the rest of what the man had to say.

"Why excuse me, I do see where you're coming from. What I meant to suggest was a half-life duel. They're often used as practice for the gym leader battles in the KGB. When a Pokémon reaches half-health it's sent back to the Pokélink, and when one trainer reaches half health the duel is over. It's a good way to resolve this conflict without anyone actually getting hurt, don't you think? Winner gets to go first."

Klein pondered this suggestion for a moment. If he declined, it wasn't likely that the KGB would allow them to advance forward and finish the quest. There was no guarantee they would honor the result of the duel if he won on the other hand, but in the time it took to finish the duel it was likely that another guild would show up. The KGB would be forced to let Klein through if another guild had witnessed the result.

On the other hand, the KGB members apparently had some experience with fighting half-life duels. Despite this, Klein felt confident he could give Kibaou a run for his money. Klein's Fire-types were strong against Cacnea and the Victreebel he'd added to his team for diversity would deal a lot of damage to the Corsola he knew Kibaou used. He was glad that he had asked Argo for information about the teams of some of the top clearers previously.

"Alright fine, it's you and me Kibaou, let's do this."

"Huh, what's this guy talkin' about? I never said I'd be the one fighting. Actually, yer lucky I'm not gonna be the one fighting cause I'd mop the floor with you. Morte, go teach this guy a lesson."

Morte was a bit annoyed by Kibaou's insinuation that he was a step down from him, but his joy to be taking part in this battle overwhelmed that, causing him to smile deviously.

"Well, how about it? Want to have a go at it with me, Morte? We'll each use 3 of our Pokémon at the half-health setting. Oh, and don't worry about having low health at the end of the battle. If you win, I'll personally heal your Pokémon for you to participate in the boss fight. Oh my, I'm like a real Nurse Joy aren't I?"

Klein was a bit worried about fighting someone who's team he knew nothing about, but it was still better than the alternative. He considered it unlikely that the KGB would actually attack him and turn their cursors red in the process over an event like this, but even the slightest chance of endangering the lives of his guild members was too much of a risk. A possible resurrection item could make people do crazy things, especially if one of their members had died recently in a raid boss battle.

This Morte person was giving him a bad vibe, especially since he couldn't see his eyes. However, he was a member of one of the top guilds in the game with plenty of people watching, so Klein was sure he'd fight fairly. He hadn't thought about the possibility of being too low on health to face the boss after this, so it was a nice bonus that his Pokémon would be healed after this battle free of charge if he won. None of the KGB or Fuurinkazan members had gotten close enough to the altar yet to realize that they were just competing for second place.

Klein stayed silent as Morte opened his menu and quickly setup the battle. When the duel request popped up on his screen, he read the rules in order to confirm the conditions before accepting it. Everything seemed to be in order, though this guy's smile really was giving him the creeps.

After pressing the accept button, Klein began to quickly deliberate on which Pokémon he would use. He only had 4 Pokémon he felt comfortable using at this time. Infernape was his starter and Victreebel was his only non-Fire type so they were givens. He hadn't been using the latest addition to his team for all that long, so he decided to take Magmortar as his final Pokémon. He'd recently acquired the Magmarizer needed to evolve his Magmar so he was looking forward to using it in a real fight. Having decided, he released the Pokémon from his Pokélink and took a stance with his katana.

 _What's he doing? He shouldn't be releasing the Pokémon he's using until the last second. Kirito taught me at least that much about duels while we were together. It'd be different if he was trying to trick his opponent, but Klein doesn't have a Ditto or a Zoroark or anything._

Silica's observation from the side was on point. It was true that players generally waited to reveal their Pokémon until the last second to give them an advantage in battle. If the opponent didn't know your team then they couldn't strategize against it during the countdown before the duel began. Klein had not been in the beta test however, so he hadn't considered this. He had only been thinking about the Pokémon that he would be using and released them from his Pokélink once he had decided. Though it was a small mistake, his guildmates would surely hound him over it later.

"Well, I must applaud your bravery in showing me your cards before the match begins. I hope you don't come to regret that," Morte said with a mocking sneer.

As the countdown neared zero, he released a Liepard, a Gallade, and a Slowking from his own Pokélink. All of his Pokémon had reached their final evolution and packed a punch. Morte decided not to use his starter Pokémon, Scizor, due to the prevalence of Fire-types on Klein's team. Of course, he'd known that Klein used primarily Fire-types before picking this fight. The timing would be tricky, but so far things were going well for him.

As the battle began, Klein immediately instructed his Magmortar to set up Sunny Day. The harsh sunlight would power up his Pokémon's Fire-type attacks and would also boost Victreebel's speed thanks to its ability Chlorophyll. As soon as his Magmortar used the move however, something unexpected happened.

The spotted, purple leopard Pokémon, Liepard, suddenly became doused in brightness akin to a spotlight and began to cheer. This was a line-of-sight move called Encore that would lock the affected Pokémon into only using the same move for the next 30-45 seconds. Klein's Magmortar would now only be able to use the non-damaging move Sunny Day and dodge for close to a minute, effectively giving his opponent a power play.

While Klein hadn't expected this, all was not lost. With his Victreebel's boost in speed from the sunlight, it should be able to put one of the enemies to sleep and even up the odds. {Venus Mantrap, use Sleep Powder on the Gallade!}

However, faster still, the Liepard wagged its paw at the Victreebel in a demeaning fashion. This was another line-of-sight move in POW called Taunt. It would taunt the targeted Pokémon into only using attacking moves as the name suggested. There were many ways to prevent line-of-sight moves from being used effectively in this game including simply blocking the Pokémon from the enemy's sight. Klein did not have the necessary battle experience in POW or in Pokémon in general to plan for this though.

Yet, even accounting for this, how had the Liepard managed to out speed his Victreebel in the sunlight? This was the one thing Klein could not understand. The answer was the Liepard's ability, Prankster. This ability allowed it to use non-attacking moves with greater Priority. Morte must have seen through his plan from the beginning as Klein was now in an awful position.

Not sure of how to proceed, Klein decided to stick to his guts and win with overwhelming firepower. In the sunlight, his Pokémon would be able to deal more damage than normal. {Dante, Venus Mantrap, use Fire Blast and Vine Whip on the Slowking!}

The powerful attacks both landed against the enemy Slowking which he had deemed the biggest threat to his team, knocking it below 50% HP and eliminating it from the battle. However, before the Slowking went down it managed to launch a Psychic wave of energy towards his Victreebel, dealing massive damage to it. The Liepard's follow-up Pursuit attack sent Klein's Victreebel back to his own Pokélink.

At the same time, the enemy Gallade was attacking Klein's incapacitated Magmortar with a Zen Headbutt, and Morte himself was rushing him down gleefully with a sword in hand. Morte was faster than he had expected and the glancing blow to his left flank dealt some damage. If there was one thing Klein was confident in however, it was his swordplay.

Blocking the second attack of the two-hit sword skill, Klein retaliated by activating a sword skill of his own. While the end of his own sword skill was blocked by the shield Morte held in his other hand, he had still managed to deal a similar amount of damage back. As Klein dodged his opponent's shield and parried the strike from his sword, Klein felt that he could fight on even footing with the KGB member.

Nonetheless, the battle had just begun, but the likely victor was already clear. Morte's Pokémon had a decisive advantage over Klein's that would be difficult to overcome.

* * *

Kirito lunged past a bolt of lightning then narrowly dodged a jet of water that had likely been aimed at someone else. The battlefield was rather chaotic despite the large size of the ring. Even so, he had managed to maneuver through the minefield and reach the yellow and blue Pokémon that had been constantly running away from him. Activating a sword skill for the dozenth or so time, his blade cut into the Minun in the shape of a rhombus. When the fourth and final hit of Horizontal Square landed, the Pokémon finally burst into shards of light and disappeared, allowing Kirito to steady his mind.

This fight had been rather mentally taxing on him. Kirito was used to his opponents attacking him in the boss fights; aside from the Onix in the first raid boss fight however, none of his opponents had tried to run away from him for the full duration of the battle. This alone he could handle however, it was the constant rain of attacks from other areas of the battlefield in conjunction with this that made the battle truly frustrating.

Seemingly all of the Pokémon in this mini-boss fight behaved like the bunnies they were based off of and would run away from their attackers. Unlike their real-world counterparts however, these bunnies would fire off attacks in all directions as they ran, making it very difficult to deal damage to them without being hit.

Even Kirito, who was very proud of his dodging abilities, had taken a few hits during this boss battle and would need to heal once it was over. The amount of damage he had taken wasn't close to life-threatening though, so it was better to help the others finish the battle now instead of taking a potion break.

Looking around though, his help didn't appear to be needed. Argo and her Raticate had defeated their quarry before he had, and as he watched, a sphere of darkness and a Dragon Pulse slammed into the Azumarill and eliminated the last vestiges of its health.

{Good job Kiriko, Fluffy.}

Deciding to help out his other Pokémon, Kirito made his way quickly towards where the Wigglytuff was fighting his Charizard and Gothitelle. Deciding to initiate a 3-pronged attack, he ordered his Pokémon to get in position.

{Chardcore, finish it off with an Overheat. Estelle, fire off a Psychic from the other side!}

As his Pokémon launched their attacks, the enemy Wigglytuff began to turn to leap out of the way of them. At this rate it would escape unscathed, but that was where Kirito came in to play. While he would take some damage from this, it was the last battle of the day so he wasn't worried about it.

Making up his mind, Kirito leapt forwards with the sword skill Sonic Leap. The Wigglytuff, seeing him coming, began the windup for a Tackle attack. The boy's sword and the giant bunny Pokémon crashed into one another in mid-air and were each repelled backwards from it. Kirito had taken a bit more damage from the exchange, but it was well worth it. The Wigglytuff had been unable to escape the other attacks headed its way due to the impact, allowing the scorching flames to roast it into oblivion.

Satisfied with this result, Kirito turned to see a similar scene happening elsewhere as Argo's claws raked down the remaining Plusle's side and ended its life as well. The event Pokémon had been defeated without a hitch.

 _Party of at least three recommended my ass. I could have beaten this solo without losing a Pokémon._

While this may have been true, Kirito was an exception rather than the rule in this regard. At this point in time, he was the highest level-player in all of POW after all. He wasn't here to be challenged in a fight though. Remembering his objective, Kirito's line of sight moved around the arena to the center of the room.

As though acting on a cue triggered by his gaze, a gap opened in the floor from which rose a small pedestal. Argo gasped aloud as she saw what was resting on top of it. Standing upright in a square were 4 golden, diamond shaped objects that gleamed irresistibly.

These were the items known as Revives. While prevalent in the beta but rarely used, these items were extremely valuable in the current state of POW where a Pokémon's death only had 25 minutes to be overturned before they were gone forever. With the boss battles being located far from the nearest Pokémon center, the majority of the clearer's had lost at least one Pokémon before and would gladly pay a heavy price for a Revive. Until now however, none of them had been found in the game.

Surely more revives would be available in the future as rewards in boss fights or even at the Item Shops, but for now, these were likely the most valuable items available in the game. Or rather, they would be if not for the larger white, diamond-shaped object that perched like a flower in the center of the pedestal between the 4 Revives.

This was an item that had never been seen before in the beta. Considering the conditions under which it was acquired in this game, this was likely the only one of its kind in existence. He would never have a chance to acquire this item again. While Kirito wasn't sure what it did since this item was a POW-exclusive, it was very likely that it had some type of revival function due to the theme of the event.

In the back of Kirito's mind, he still knew that the odds of it being used to revive a human who had supposedly been dead for months was so small as to be miniscule. Still, his heart was telling him that if he picked up this item, he would be able to see Sachi again. After standing in awe marveling at the item in front of him for a brief period of time, Kirito forced his legs to move towards the podium. After taking two of the Revives for himself and giving the other two to Argo, Kirito held his breath and picked up the object of his desires.

"Wow, this is more than I possibly could have expected," Argo said as they began to walk back towards the entrance of the cave. "I guess the reward was made for a party of 5 with one item for each person, but even so… Hey, how long are you gonna keep me waiting Kii-bou? What's it do?"

"I don't know, I haven't checked yet."

They had already made it back close to the exit, yet Kirito still hadn't read the description of the item that would detail how it could be used. As it was now, the item could have any purpose and could do anything. Once he truly knew what it did though, the possibilities would converge down to one and Kirito's spirit would be swept upward in elation or dashed against the harsh, rocky surface of reality.

Delaying the moment wouldn't have any impact however, so Kirito steeled himself in preparation to check. "Alright… I'll take a look at it now."

Kirito swiped up on the item to read the description. As he began to read it though, the sounds of swords clashing and Pokémon fighting came from beyond the exit. Confused by this, Kirito and Argo looked at each other questioningly before Kirito tossed the item into his pocket and they ran out of the cave.

What they saw when they got out was what appeared to be a trainer battle between two players. Kirito was immediately alarmed as he saw one of the players was Klein, but relaxed a bit when he noticed all of the HP bars involved were still in the green. Even if it was a half-health battle though, two guild leaders fighting over an item could easily lead to more severe complications.

As he thought this, Kirito finally noticed who the other player was. Holding a sword in one hand and a shield in the other was the man they'd met earlier today near Pallet Town, Morte. Why was he battling instead of Kibaou? And more importantly, why was he using a sword and shield? When Kirito had first seen him, he'd definitely been carrying a mace.

Klein leapt forward with his katana and slashed Morte's Liepard below half-health to even up the Pokémon count. But not a second later, Morte returned the favor to Klein's Infernape with a sword skill of his own that sent it back to the Pokélink. The battle was nearing its end, and it appeared that Morte had the advantage.

The battle was still fairly close though. Klein only had a bit less health than Morte did, and Morte's final remaining Pokémon, Gallade, would go down if it was so much as breathed on. If Klein could land a hit on the Gallade then he might have a chance in a one-on-one fight even with the health disadvantage. It would still be very difficult to land that hit in a 2v1 situation though.

To Kirito's surprise, the Gallade rushed towards Klein while Morte stayed back and manipulated his menu. This was the opportunity that Klein needed! Klein had just used a sword skill though so he was a bit delayed in reacting. The Gallade was able to make it past his defenses and swiped downwards towards his chest with its palm.

It was unfortunate, but Klein seemed to have lost. It could have been worse though, winning the third prize in a contest like this was sure to net him a large reward. He had already swung his sword towards the Gallade, but with the duel over, the game would surely prevent his attack from completing or something. It was now Klein's turn to be surprised though as his swing connected, knocking the Gallade below half health and eliminating it from the battle. It seemed as though he had miraculously survived the Pokémon's attack with one health above half HP, and he had just taken out Morte's final Pokémon as well!

Klein began to think to himself that he could really win at this point. He couldn't trade blows, but if he able to land one hard, clean strike onto his opponent before Morte hit him, he might just win the battle! As he looked towards his opponent, he noticed that Morte seemed to be focused on the entrance to the cave to the side of them and that his hands were empty. Had he made a mistake operating his menu because he heard something?

Klein wasn't kind enough to forgive a mistake like this and began charging his opponent. His teammates cheered for him while there were a few upset yells from the KGB camp telling Morte to get a hold of himself. Only Kirito and Morte seemed to truly understand the situation at hand.

 _He wasn't trying to win the fight just now, that was False Swipe. It leaves an opponent on one health. Mostly people just do it to help them catch Pokémon, but he definitely did it on purpose to bait Klein in. If Klein were to take one hard hit right now, would his health only fall to 50% or would it go down all the way…? Shit, that's gotta be what he's aiming for._

The events around him seemed to slow down in Kirito's mind as he immediately reacted to the situation. Running towards the place where Klein and Morte would clash, he saw Morte grin sadistically as a mace materialized in the hand behind his back. Klein did not notice this as he leapt forwards with his katana extended, focusing only on landing his attack and not on defending himself at all.

In his mind, Kirito could easily imagine Morte dodging the desperate attack and bringing the mace down with all of his strength onto Klein's head, erasing his health bar completely. Life seemed to imitate imagination as Morte dodged the katana with ease, apparently having hid his skill with the sword earlier on to lull Klein into complacency.

Raising the mace upwards and gripping it with both hands, Morte brought it down towards Klein with a look of pure delight on his face in what was clearly an attempt at premeditated murder. Thankfully though, Kirito had made it in time. Swinging his sword upwards in order to intercept the mace, Kirito felt relieved that even if the attack wasn't fully stopped, the mace would lose the momentum it needed to finish Klein off completely.

Kirito's imagination couldn't account for everything though. With the smile still on his face, Morte slowed his swing and let go of the mace with one hand. The hand moved directly into the path of Kirito's sword before he could pull back, causing Kirito's sword to barely slice him across the wrist.

 _Huh? Was he aiming for this? That mask obscured his eyes so I didn't think he saw me, but…_

As time resumed in normal motion in Kirito's eyes, a number of things happened at once. His cursor turned orange for attacking a green player outside of a duel, Morte jumped back in mock surprise and yelled out that he'd been ambushed, and Klein fell to the ground in fear as the realization of what had just happened dawned on him. Anxious for their master's safety, Kirito's Pokémon team also rushed to his side in an attempt to intimidate any would-be attackers. This unfortunately backfired as it made Kirito look even more like the aggressor.

{Stop guys, return to the Pokélink. You're making things worse!}

{But Master-}

{I'll take them all on myself if I have to Boss.}

"He just tried to attack a KGB member! Morte was right when he told us that Beater had a red cursor before. This is our chance to take him out."

"Yeah, he's the guy who stole last hits from all of the boss battles. I bet he's here to do that too."

"No I'm not," Kirito argued back desperately. "I already have the item, I was just trying to save my friend. You all just stood there and watched Morte try to kill him."

"Kill him? Dear me, this is a half-life duel Kirito. My opponent was very skilled with the sword so I was forced to resort to trickery to land one last hit on him. I don't think it's even possible to kill in a half-life duel!"

"Then why switch to the mace? And why use False Swipe to lower his HP as much as possible without winning the duel?"

"He switches between the mace and the sword all the time in our practice duels!" yelled one of the KGB members Kirito didn't know. "You think you can just attack a KGB member and then accuse him of murder in front of all of us? You're so full of shit!"

"Why, I haven't even located the Technical Machine for the move False Swipe yet! I instructed my Gallade to use Slash."

Things were going south quickly. While Slash looked nothing like False Swipe, there was no way Kirito would be able to convince the KGB members of this when they already seemed to hate him. From their perspective, the beater who stole last hits and was kicked out of the boss battles had come out of nowhere to attack one of their members. Was there any way he could diffuse this situation?

Some of the Fuurinkazan members were arguing his case and seemed poised to step in if things got violent, but Klein himself still seemed a bit shell-shocked at how close he had come to dying and was likely zoned out from the conversation right now. What was worse was that a couple KGB members, led by the tall trainer named Joe, were approaching him slowly as though to surround him. His Pokémon were snarling back in response which only exacerbated things.

Argo was trying to make her way over to Kibaou who still had not said anything, but it was doubtful if this situation could be remedied so easily. At some point another guild would surely show up and see Kirito and the KGB at odds, and who knew who's side they would take. Morte was smiling gleefully at the chaos he had caused as he argued with the Fuurinkazan members.

In the end however, it was a little girl running forward and hugging Kirito that finally caused everyone to shut up. The girl had run right past the KGB members and Kirito's Pokémon before wrapping her arms around his back and burying her head in his chest. She was scared of what was happening right now, but she wouldn't just stand there silently again while the boy who had saved her life was in trouble.

As everyone else stopped arguing and fell silent at the unexpected development, Silica spoke up as loudly as she could while trying not to let her voice waver.

"I won't let any of you hurt Kirito! He's saved my life and he's always fighting on the front lines so he can see his family back home. He would never attack someone for no reason, so even if Mr. Morte is innocent… the only reason his cursor turned red is because he was trying to protect his friend. Please just overlook this and let him go… and if you won't, you'll have to go through me first!"

Even though Silica's brave declaration lost some of its effect from hiding her head in Kirito's chest as she said it, it still had the effect she'd hoped it would. The urge to fight that many KGB and Fuurinkazan members had felt mere seconds ago dropped drastically and Kirito's Pokémon began to calm down. Morte clearly hadn't expected this and stared closely at the young girl but remained silent. Only one member of the KGB, Joe, seemed unaffected.

"Hey boss, forget what that girl said, this is the perfect time to take him out after what he's done to u-"

"Shut up Joe, we're not going to kill anyone in front of an innocent, little girl. Do you think we're some kind of villains or something?

"But what about the resurrection item?"

"I thought I told you ta shut up? Second place is fine too, we aren't using that as an excuse to kill someone… Hey, could you tell me what the item was though?"

It took Kirito a moment to realize that Kibaou was addressing him. He decided to keep the extra Revives a secret, but as the adrenaline finally began to wear off, the tiredness and sadness Kirito had felt when he'd read the item description earlier finally came back to him. Reaching down to his pocket and pulling out the item, he read the information about the item that was still pulled up from earlier.

"Droplet of the Pneuma Flower: Use this item to revive a dead Pokémon regardless of when it died. This is an exclusive, one-time usage item, so choose carefully."

This item would surely fetch a very high price from many a clearer who had lost their Pokémon in battle recently. While reviving a Pokémon that died months ago wouldn't be very useful, Pokémon that had died recently would still be useful. There were certainly members of the KGB who would want it. He could feel Silica's arms that were wrapped around him shaking ever so slightly. Knowing that there was a way to revive Pinachu must have made her very happy, yet she didn't ask him for the item.

"You planning on using it? Or would ya be interested in selling it?"

This request from Kibaou surprised Kirito, as he had expected them to demand the item from him if anything. However, he already knew what he would be using this item for and couldn't sell it even if it would help to mend his messed-up relations with the KGB.

"Sorry, but no can do. One of my Pokémon died in battle recently so I'll be using the item on it."

"Is that so? Well, can't nothing be done about that. Come on guys, let's get this event over with and finish things up now. Second place should still have quite the prize."

Joe looked like he wanted to protest, but stayed silent after having already been rebuked by the leader of the KGB twice. Kirito didn't want to look at Morte, so he instead looked down at Silica who was still wrapped around him and patted her head. When she'd heard that he was using the item on one of his own Pokémon she had drooped a bit, but she still didn't say anything.

 _This girl isn't honest at all. She could at least request that from me after saving me from this mess. Well, I was planning on giving it to her anyways._

A small smile formed on Kirito's face despite himself. He hadn't had time to process everything with all that had happened in the past few minutes and he would no doubt be very sad later tonight sleeping in the safe zone of a dungeon after not managing to save Sachi. Still, knowing that he was about to make the girl wrapped around him very happy made him feel a little warm inside.

Her face positively lit up as Kirito gave her the good news and she hugged him even tighter. Seeing this, the other Fuurinkazan members made their way over to tease Silica and assist their leader. Argo too had come forward and was asking Klein questions about the battle he had just partaken in, while he himself tried to thank Kirito profusely for his help.

From the woods not too far from where they were, Asuna watched as the Fuurinkazan members gathered around Kirito and a still shaken but recovering Klein. She was at a total loss as to what had happened here but she could piece a few things together. The KGB members who had just walked off were going to complete the event now, but clearly, they were not the first to arrive. She hadn't seen the item in Kirito's hand before but she understood instinctively that it must be the reward for placing first in the Easter Event.

What she was still clueless on however, was who the younger girl wrapped around Kirito was or what the hell had gone on around here before she showed up. Resolving to party up with Kirito soon and ask him about it then, Asuna instructed the KOB members to wait until the other parties had left before completing the event.

While it was disappointing that they hadn't placed in the top 3, Asuna felt that she had bonded with some of the other guild members over the course of the day and that she had done better than expected at leading them. They would only be receiving the consolation prize of experience for completing the event but that couldn't be helped. Actually, she was a bit surprised they'd finished outside of the top 3 as they'd gone pretty fast, but there was no point being upset about it.

* * *

Argo and Kiriko joking around like they had in the past, Klein introducing the members of Fuurinkazan to him, and Silica's adorable smile beaming up at him when she was reunited with her Pikachu were all fresh in his memories. If he thought about it, today had been a good day. He'd made up with a friend, won a contest against the rest of the clearers for a rare item, and brought back a dead Pokémon from the grave. He had even managed to save Klein without getting into a major fight with the KGB. You really couldn't ask for anything else out of a single day. So why did he still feel so cold?

The environment might have had a bit to do with that. He was currently in the safe zone of a cave with only the light from his Charizard's tail to illuminate him. The actual temperature was cooler than what he was used to sleeping in for sure. It wasn't the physical coldness he was worried about however.

Despite all of the good things that had happened to him today and the way his friends had done their best to cheer him up, he still felt empty on the inside. In the end, he couldn't have avoided feeling like this today no matter what happened in the contest. It was always going to end like this.

With Sachi still dead, and Kirito alone missing her.

They hadn't even been together that long. POW was a death game and it was always likely that one or both of them would never make it back to the real world. In the end, it was really all Kayaba's fault anyways. Keita's harsh words had made him feel guiltier about it than he really should have. Sachi's last words were probably just her cursing him too. It would be better just to forget about them all and move on.

No matter what excuse he tried to tell himself, the memory of her hiding in the cave, snuggling up to him in bed, telling her she loved him, and dying before his very eyes replayed themselves in his mind over and over again.

It was odd. He thought he'd pushed these memories down. After the Rayquaza incident, he'd managed to not think about it as much. As he trained more and more, he would only think about it once or twice a day, then just a few times a week, and finally only in his dreams. It had been a matter of survival for him. Remembering these things in the midst of battle could lead to his death, so he thought about it less and less.

Yet when the Easter Event had been announced, the memories had come flooding back in full force. They were just as vivid as they had been back then. Things about the Moonlit Black Cats that he'd thought he'd forgotten came rushing back to the surface like blood after picking off a scab.

This was all because the tiny ember of hope that he might still be able to save her hadn't been allowed to die out completely. It was as though Kayaba felt the need to revive that feeble emotion within him from the ashes to make him experience it again.

Still, in a way, this at least gave him that final bit of closure. He wouldn't be able to forget what had happened to him for a long time, and perhaps that was a good thing. But if this resurrection-themed event didn't hold the key to bringing Sachi back, then there was nothing he could do. The ember that Kayaba had brought back and grown from its death-like state was finally snuffed out by the very same person.

If the creator of this game had known what Kirito had gone through, how would he be feeling right now? Perhaps he would regret the unintended consequences of his actions. Or more realistically, he might smile with delight at the pain he'd caused. Kirito had watched all of the man's interviews though, so he knew the truth. The man would simply feel indifferent. The man Kirito had once envied and respected so much was now simply an uncaring God-like existence in this world watching the players move as though they were ants in an ant farm rather than human beings.

 _Ah, I don't want to think about him right now either. My thoughts about the Moonlit Black Cats are painful, but at least she's in them. There's nothing I can do to save her now, and there really never was a way since the day she died, but I'd still like to see her again even one more time. I just wish I knew what she was saying in those final moments, even if it was to tell me it was all my fault._

"Hey Kiriko… are you awake?"

What was this familiar voice that sounded like it came straight out of his memories? There couldn't be anyone besides him and Kiriko in this cave that could talk aloud, yet he'd heard Sachi's voice clearly. Was he finally losing his sanity?

"Oh good, I know you can't talk, but can you relay a message for me? It should be fine if it's you."

No, he wasn't going crazy, he really could hear Sachi talking right beside him. Yet the voice was addressing Kiriko, and Kiriko was the only one besides him in this cave who could talk. Was this some sort of prank? The thought of it made him angry, but he turned over to the other side of his sleeping bag in case that wasn't the case.

What he saw was… Sachi herself. It would be an exaggeration to say she was in the flesh. This was undoubtedly Kiriko mimicking Sachi's form with her Illusion ability. Yet every detail was captured perfectly. The emerald green eyes, the gloves covering her arms up to her elbows, the blue tunic she wore, her pale white skin and jet-black hair, even the small mole under the corner of her right eye. Kirito had planned to say something to Kiriko, but with his breath taken away, he laid there quietly and listened instead.

"I have a feeling that something bad is going to happen to me. It's not like it's a new feeling though, I've just felt this way ever since I joined this game. I knew that if I ever left the safe zone, then I'd eventually die. The thing is, Kirito has been so nice to me. He comforted me, he gave me courage, he lets me sleep with him when I'm too scared to sleep, and I just like being around him. I've been thinking about it a lot, and I think I might be… I think I'm… in love with him. I'm planning to tell him tomorrow, but I wanted to say it to someone now in case something happens or I get too scared to.

What else did I want to say. Oh, I know Kirito is a higher level than he says he is. I saw his menu one time when he thought I was asleep. I've thought about why he would hide it a lot, but I still don't get it. Even so, it makes me happy that he's here watching over us. Like a guardian angel or something. Don't tell him I said that, I want to level up so that we can be together on equal terms as lovers. I don't just want to be protected. I think all of us feel that way, we want to pay Kirito back any way we can.

Still, if something did happen to us, I'm sure Kirito will blame himself for it. I don't want him to suffer because of me, it'd be better if he could remember the time we've had together as a good thing. I want to be there to cheer him up when he's sad. I don't want to be the one weighing him down anymore. So I'll become stronger, but if I do die, don't worry about me too much. If it'll make you feel better, just go ahead and forget about me. I… I just want you to be happy."

Sachi's eyes, much like Kirito's own, had become wet with tears at this point, and she paused to wipe them off before finishing her message.

"Good bye, I love you."

The memory of Sachi saying her last words to him right before she burst into pieces replayed through his mind once more. The words she'd been trying to say then that he hadn't been able to hear… now he knew. She hadn't been trying to curse him in his final moments, but to lessen the pain of him losing her even if only a little bit. Even though it was all his fault that she and her friends had died, her last words to him were only of love and kindness. She was truly too good for this cruel game.

As Kiriko finally transformed back to her normal human form, tears still running down her cheeks, Kirito asked her, "Kiriko, why now? Why did you hide this from me for all this time?"

"I'm sorry Master, I just felt that once you saw this you would give up on her for good. Our emotions are connected and I could feel your determination to try to save her and the hope that she might still be alive. So it might have been selfish of me, but I wanted to do anything I could to save her too. I didn't want to have to show you this message at all because of that, but after today, I can't deny it anymore. I'm sorry for hiding it from you."

 _Kiriko has been hiding this message from me all along because she wanted to save Sachi too. I had no idea she felt that way. I don't completely understand it, but it seems like she's gone through a lot too._

"I'm not mad Kiriko, thanks for sharing this with me now. No more hiding things from me though, okay? You should know better than to think that something like this would have made me give up. We're partners after all."

Despite spending a cold, lonely night in a safe zone in the middle of a dangerous cave, Kirito slept more soundly than he'd slept in months after that. Perhaps he had cried himself out talking with Kiriko about Sachi one last time, or perhaps he'd just had such an exhausting and event-filled day that he couldn't help it, but either way, he slept like a baby.

While he would still think about Sachi occasionally from then on, these thoughts no longer made him as sad as they once had, and he no longer had delusions about reviving her or seeing her again. He had finally accepted her death, and he was ready to move on and live in a way that would make her happy to see.

* * *

 **It's been a while since I posted an update on here. I've been pretty busy but I'm just getting back into writing again. I can't guarantee consistent updates since I don't have as much free time now, but I'll probably start posting new chapters a lot more regularly.**

 **Feel free to review or message me about this chapter as usual. I thought about typing up a summary of the previous chapters to put before this one since I haven't updated recently but I was too lazy to. More SAO girls will be introduced in this fic next chapter and other things will probably happen too. The SAO Alicization anime is getting close to my favorite part also so that's cool. Anyways, Happy Holidays!**


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